


Every Second Counts (On a Clock That’s Tickin’)

by Spikedluv



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), American Idol RPF, Kris Allen (Musician)
Genre: Apocalypse, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-07
Updated: 2011-03-07
Packaged: 2017-10-16 04:29:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/168421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spikedluv/pseuds/Spikedluv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kris hears that the world might end, the first thing he thinks about is seeing Adam again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Second Counts (On a Clock That’s Tickin’)

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a pinch hit fic for kradamreversebb using faith_mars’s art prompt: _Adam and Kris haven't talked to each other for years after a big fight, but when there's suddenly the possibility of the world ending Kris decides to take a chance and make things right with Adam, and maybe get up the courage to tell him how he really feels._ I may have changed this from a first-time-ish fic to established relationship because that’s how the idea leapt into my head.
> 
> Written: March 6, 2011

  
~Artwork created by faith_mars~

Kris was sitting on his deck overlooking Greer Ferry Lake and speaking with his mother on the phone when she suddenly broke off what she was saying and went silent. Finally she spoke again. “Oh my god, Kris,” she said, “turn on the television.”

The tone of her voice got him moving even as it made the blood run cold in his veins. “What channel?” he said as he pushed off the deck chair and hurried into the living room.

“Any local channel; I think they’re all carrying it.”

Kris found the remote and thumbed it. The television came to life and he changed the channel from VH1 (yes, he liked to keep up on the new videos) to a local network. He didn’t know what to expect, though he knew from his mother’s reaction that it would be bad; the death of the President, maybe, or another tragedy like the Twin Towers. What it turned out to be was even worse, if it was real. Kris changed the channel, but each of them carried the same story – the end of the world. Armageddon.

Kris still held his cell phone to his ear, his mother breathing on the other end, but there were no words spoken between them as they both listened to the stunning reports being broadcast to the world. He dropped to the couch and watched the entire press conference play out again, listened to the reporters repeating the President’s words as if they could make some sense of it.

An asteroid hurtling towards Earth, scientists and scholars working round the clock, a last ditch effort to alter its course so that it would miss the planet entirely, or at least break it up to minimize the damage of a direct hit as much as possible. If it didn’t work, they were all going to die.

And Kris would never have the opportunity to see Adam again. As that horrible thought crossed his mind Kris automatically reached up and closed his fingers around the ring that lay beneath his t-shirt, hung on the chain around his neck.

“Mama,” Kris said into the cell, but there was only silence. He disconnected and re-dialed, but only got that irritating tone and a disembodied voice telling him that his call couldn’t go through. The system was probably being overloaded with people trying to call their loved ones, trying to figure out if this was a hoax, or the worst possible truth.

Kris couldn’t stay there, in the middle of nowhere, unable to contact his family. He packed a bag, and loaded it and his favorite guitar into the car. Back inside the lake house he looked around. He had no idea what else he should take with him, and he had no idea whether he’d be back.

Kris found a box and loaded it with boxed and canned goods, then remembered to include a can opener. If nothing else, he’d be able to survive on granola bars and baked beans. He grabbed the sleeping bag and battery operated lantern from the closet, then added matches and batteries to the box. He went to the electrical box and turned off everything, offering a silent apology to the next person to open the refrigerator he didn’t take time to empty, and locked the front door behind him.

Kris stopped at the gas station (where the topic of conversation was the asteroid heading their way, and whether or not it was some kind of government conspiracy) to fill up his tank and an extra gas jug, and then he pointed his car towards Route 65, which would take him south to Conway. The highway was relatively clear, but Kris expected that to change as the news spread, and as people took to the roads in fear, as if they could run from the asteroid even though there was nowhere _to_ run. Even if they managed to break it up, they had no idea where the pieces would hit.

Kris could usually make the hour and twenty minute drive from Greer Ferry Lake to Conway in just over an hour. Today it took him nearly two. He felt a wave of relief as soon as his eyes fell on his parents’ home. He’d no sooner pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine than the screen door slammed open and his mother ran out of the house. She enveloped him in a hug the moment he stepped out of the car. If it were possible, Kris thought, she’d save them all with the strength of her love alone.

She ushered Kris inside where everyone had gathered in the living room around the television, listening to the same reports over and over again in hopes of hearing something different, praying for good news. Kris got a round of hugs, and room was made for him on the floor in front of the couch.

His mom handed out drinks and sandwiches, doing her part to keep things normal. Kris listened to the news, and the softly murmured conversation as they tried to create some semblance of _sense_ of it all. Finally Kris excused himself and joined his mother in the kitchen where she was cooking – baking a pie, and marinating chicken for the grill, and throwing together a potato salad – refusing to let something as insignificant as an asteroid that threatened to end all life on Earth keep her from feeding her family.

“Can I help?”

His mother pointed to the cutting board, and then tossed a cucumber at him. Kris rinsed and peeled and sliced and seeded and diced. He did the same to a pepper, and then celery. The mindless task was calming, and gave him a chance to gather his thoughts.

“I’m going to LA,” he finally blurted out.

Kris wasn’t sure exactly when he’d made the decision, if there was even a decision to make.

His mother’s hands paused in their task, then started up again. She said, “When are you leaving?”

Kris wasn’t surprised that she wasn’t going to tell him that it was a bad idea. His mother was the one person (until he’d met Adam), who’d understood him best.

“In the morning.”

If Kris expected an argument, he was wrong. She just nodded. “Just promise me that you’ll be careful.”

“I will,” Kris promised.

He kissed his mother’s cheek and pulled her into a hug, and didn’t comment on the tears he saw filling her eyes.

They were interrupted by Daniel in search of another drink. He studied the two of them as he rinsed out his can and then tossed it in the recycling bin. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. We’re having chicken for dinner,” Kim said.

Daniel, attention successfully diverted by food, rolled his eyes. “Kris’ home, of course we’re having chicken.”

Kris shook his head. End of the world or not, Daniel would always be his little pain in the ass brother. He smirked at Daniel. “You’re just jealous.”

“Yeah, right,” Daniel snorted, and then got another can out of the fridge and left them alone once more.

Kris thought about all the times he’d wanted to call Adam, and all the times he’d decided not to. He was such an idiot to have let so much time pass because of pride, or fear of rejection.

Supper was a loud and boisterous affair. The mood was almost frenetic as everyone tried to forget the shocking news they’d received that day. Cale showed up with Kate, and Charles soon after, the news of Kris’ visit having reached them through the small town grapevine. They talked about upcoming births and gigs and weddings, and pretended that the future they’d laid out for themselves still had a chance in hell of happening.

The night ended late, no one really wanting to be by themselves, finding solace in the company of others. Talking about the Braves’ chances of making it to the World Series that year was better than thinking about the asteroid that was less than a week away from plummeting to earth.

Kris tossed and turned when he finally got to bed that night, unable to turn off his brain. Thoughts of the asteroid, and of Adam, banged about inside his head. He was afraid that the asteroid might hit before he found Adam, though he tried not to imagine that he’d find Adam only to discover that Adam didn’t want to see him. When he finally did fall asleep it was fitful and filled with images he couldn’t remember the next morning, but which left him feeling disturbed.

Kris crawled out of bed before the sun was up, still tired, but unable to find rest. Still, his parents had beaten him. He found his mother in the kitchen.

“I’m making breakfast,” she announced when he walked in.

“You don’t have to . . . ,” Kris said as he got the orange juice out and poured himself a glass.

“You’ll need to eat,” she said, leaving off the ‘before you leave’, but they both heard it anyway.

His mother stuffed him, as if Kris might never get another meal. Or as if it was the last one she’d ever get to prepare for him. Kris ate everything she placed in front of him. While he ate, his mother packed a cooler with chicken sandwiches and potato salad and apple pie.

When she caught Kris watching her, she said, ”Don’t you argue with me, young man.”

Kris had no intention of arguing, and it had nothing (well, very little) to do with the chicken or the apple pie. His mom could be scary when she put her mind to it. Kris ducked his head and smiled at the pancakes soaking up syrup on his plate.

Kris was just finishing the last of his coffee when the back door closed. Moments later his dad appeared in the kitchen.

“Son,” his father said. He squeezed Kris’ shoulder as he passed him on the way to give his wife a kiss on the cheek.

After pouring himself a cup of coffee, his father said, “You’re all gassed up.”

Kris glanced towards the driveway as if he could see through the walls. “You didn’t have to do that.”

His dad gave him a look, and then continued. “I saw that you had an extra can of gas in the back; I gave you another.

Kris opened his mouth to protest, then just said, “Thank you.”

His father smiled at Kris’ struggle. “You’re welcome,” he said sounding gruff, though Kris knew it was just his emotions getting the better of him.

After breakfast Kris returned to his childhood bedroom. He’d told his mother once that she could turn it into a guest room, or a craft room. She’d told him they didn’t need the extra space, and, “besides, where would you sleep when you come to visit?”

Kris folded the clothes he’d worn the previous day and stuffed them into his duffel. On the off chance the world didn’t end in a couple of days, they might, at some point, be the cleanest outfit he owned. His hand touched the corner of the picture frame he’d taken off his night stand at home. He resisted the urge to pull it out and look at it.

When Kris stepped outside to put his duffel in the car he discovered that all his stuff had been moved to his father’s Ford F-250 extended cab, which had a hard top over the shortened bed.

“Dad,” Kris started, but his father cut him off.

“You don’t know what you’re going to run into out there. You can go off road with the truck, if you have to. Plus, we were able to pack more supplies in the back.”

Kris wouldn’t need a bunch of supplies. It was only going to be a couple of days before the asteroid hit, but he couldn’t bring himself to remind his parents of that.

Kris glanced into the bed where two gas cans were fixed to the front with bungee cords. There was also camping gear (a tent, a Coleman propane stove and adjustable grill, cookware and a water purifier, in addition to the sleeping bag and lantern he’d brought), along with a fishing pole and tackle box. Kris almost couldn’t bring himself to look at his parents, who were doing everything to ensure that he could make it back to them if he survived the asteroid hit.

There was a case of water in the backseat, and Kris’ box of foodstuff that appeared to have been supplemented from his mother’s cupboard. Kris tossed his duffel bag in with the rest, and then turned to face his parents.

They both reached for Kris’ hands, and took each other’s hand with their free. They asked God to watch over Kris and keep him safe, and then his mother pulled him into her arms and squeezed him so hard Kris thought he heard his ribs creak. His father wrapped them both up in his arms.

~*~*~*~

It took Kris two days to reach LA. He drove the first day until his eyes were bleary and he had trouble making out oncoming vehicles. He couldn’t see paying for a couple hours of restless sleep, so he found a pull off just over the New Mexico border and made sure the truck was locked up tight before he put the seat back and closed his eyes.

It was still dark when Kris got back on I-40. As with the drive to Conway, and his first day on the road, traffic wasn’t that bad until he drew closer to his destination. People fleeing the coast packed the eastbound lanes. Kris had a scare when he had to dodge an enterprising individual who was taking the westbound lanes east. He figured it wouldn’t be long before more people tried that, turning the entirety of the I-40 into a gridlock of vehicles pointed east.

Kris kept his phone charged, but he’d only been able to get through once to let his parents know he was safe and still heading west. When he reached the outskirts of LA, Kris started trying to reach Adam. He could only hope that Adam still had the same number.

The network was still being overwhelmed by all the people trying to use it at once. Kris hit redial as he pointed the truck towards the last known address he had for Adam; the home they’d shared before Kris had left LA. If Adam wasn’t there, and Kris couldn’t get through on his cell, Kris didn’t know how he’d find Adam. He decided to cross that bridge when he came to it – crossing LA was going to be enough of a challenge.

For every three streets that were clear, Kris came upon a street blocked with abandoned vehicles. Occasionally he came across gangs and looting, which scared the piss out of him. By the time he reached the house he’d once shared with Adam, Kris was shaking.

Kris turned into the driveway and pulled up to the gate. He considered just tapping in the old security code, but after all the time that had passed Adam was sure to have changed it. And if he hadn’t, it would be awfully presumptuous on Kris’ part. Even worse, if Adam didn’t live there anymore and a stranger wondered why Kris was attempting to gain access to their property.

Kris pressed the speaker button and waited for someone to respond. After a couple of very long minutes, Kris pressed the button again. When no one responded, Kris punched in the security code he still remembered as clearly as if he’d just used it that morning. It didn’t work. Kris didn’t know whether to hope that Adam had changed it, which at least meant he’d _found_ Adam, or that he’d moved. Did it even matter?

Kris backed out of the driveway, where he feared he looked too conspicuous (as if the cops didn’t have anything better to worry about with panic spilling into the streets), and parked on the street. Kris tried Adam’s cell again, and once more his call didn’t go through. Kris touched the ring lying beneath his t-shirt and said a small prayer. He wasn’t sure it would make any difference, but Kris went through his contacts, attempting to call anyone who might know where Adam was, in hopes that one of his calls would be connected.

Kris almost dropped his cell when it actually rang. His thumb was poised to disconnect and dial the next number on his list, and he had to execute a pretty dextrous maneuver, if he did say so himself, to keep his thumb from landing on the button.

Kris pressed the phone against his ear and held his breath as he waited to see if anyone would pick up, or if the network would drop his call before it was even answered.

Before Kris even realized the phone had stopped ringing, someone spoke his name. “Kris?” they said again, sounding worried, when he didn’t respond immediately.

“Leila?” Kris said, shoulders sagging as he heard her voice for the first time in years.

“Kris, sweetie, thank god you’re alright,” Leila said, sounding very relieved. “Where are you now?”

“Outside our place, the old place,” Kris said.

“Okay, don’t move, I’m sending someone to get you.”

“I can come to you,” Kris said hopefully.

“It’ll be easier this way,” Leila said. “The streets aren’t all that safe a place to be right now. Stay on the phone with me until they get there, okay?”

“Okay,” Kris agreed, but before he even got the word out the call was dropped. “Fuck!” Kris yelled out his frustration, just stopping himself from smashing the phone against the steering wheel, and slamming his empty hand against it instead.

At least they, whoever ‘they’ were, knew where he was; all Kris had to do was wait for them to come and get him. Kris looked out the windows at the empty street. He wondered if everything was so quiet because people were hiding behind locked doors, or if they’d all left. He reached up and played with the ring, which had become his nervous habit over the past two years.

Time had never moved so slowly. Fifteen minutes had passed (though it felt like fifteen hours) when Kris heard engines approaching. They were loud in the empty streets, and growing louder. He looked in the rearview mirror and watched as two SUV’s rounded the corner and turned onto the street. They raced towards him and then squealed to a haphazard stop, one in front of, and the other behind his truck.

A door slammed and Kris stared, both anxious and hopeful, at the back of the SUV blocking his escape. He recognized Adam, the shape of him, the way he walked, before he even saw his face. Kris almost sobbed in relief when he saw Adam for the first time in years. He hadn’t realized how worked up he’d gotten while waiting.

Kris pushed the door open and slid out of the truck. He nearly fell when his feet hit the pavement. He rushed towards Adam, calling out his name. Adam reached out for him, and Kris brought his arms up to return the expected hug.

Instead of putting his arms around Kris, Adam grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Do you have any idea how worried I–we were?”

Only after he’d yelled at him, did Adam pull Kris in for a hug. Kris pressed his face to Adam’s chest and wrapped his arms around him. For a moment the world around them fell away – the past two years disappeared, and there was no asteroid – and it was just the two of them. Then Adam pushed him away and Kris felt cold and empty.

“We need to get out of here,” Adam said, glancing around them, taking in their surroundings. He said nothing about Kris being parked outside the home they’d once shared. “Come on.” He took Kris’ hand and drew him towards the SUV he’d arrived in.

“Adam, wait, the truck . . . .”

“Tommy’ll drive it,” Adam said, and for the first time Kris noticed that Tommy had gotten out of the same SUV as Adam. He nodded at Kris, and gave him a closed fist bump to the shoulder as they passed each other.

Kris stared in surprise until Adam, exasperated, said, “Kris, get in the car!”

Kris got in the car.

“Seat belt,” Adam said, and then watched to make sure Kris buckled himself in.

Once Adam was satisfied, he picked up the walkie talkie standing in one of the nooks in the console and clicked the button once. Though he hadn’t spoken a word, he received two clicks in response. The moment he received that confirmation, Adam put the engine, which he’d left running, into ‘drive’ and turned the SUV into the street.

“Adam . . . .”

“Not now,” Adam said, though not unkindly, and Kris fell silent.

He watched Adam’s hands on the wheel, and had to turn away when his body responded to the sight of them (the smattering of freckles across the back, the black paint on the tips), and the strength he remembered.

Kris noticed as they drove that Adam managed to avoid the streets where crowds milled in the middle of the road, or cars were overturned and, in one case, burning, sending a plume of black smoke into the air.

“How do you know which streets to avoid?”

“Recon,” Adam said.

A word that should have sounded strange coming from Adam’s mouth, but given the changed circumstances, didn’t. Despite the years he’d lived in LA Kris felt like he’d stepped into a foreign land, where he knew neither the rules, nor the language. Streets that had once been safe now held danger. It was the stuff of movies, and yet they were now living it. Until the world ended, anyway.

Kris remained silent the rest of the drive. There was so much he wanted to say to Adam, but he didn’t know where to start. Besides, Adam didn’t seem ready to hear it, at least not while they were on the road. Kris hoped they’d have a moment alone to talk when they reached their destination.

Someone must have been watching for them because the gates swung open before they’d even reached them. The three vehicles barely slowed down to make the turn, and then roared up the drive as the gates closed behind them. When Kris turned his attention back to the front window, he got his first glimpse of what he figured must be Adam’s new home.

The house was a sprawling Spanish style with a patio in the front. The driveway split in a sort of Y. The left leg went up to the patio and circled back around to meet itself further down near the gate, and a water fountain decorated the enclosed piece of lawn. The right leg led to the three car garage. Several cars were parked on the looping driveway; two more SUVs, a trailer, and two Airstream RVs were parked near the garage.

Adam turned the SUV into the right leg of the Y and pulled to a stop in line with the other two SUVs already parked there. Tommy in Kris’ truck and the second SUV that had come to his rescue parked behind him. Adam turned off the engine and slid out of the vehicle, so Kris did the same.

Before his feet touched the ground Kris was wrapped up in a hug that smelled like cotton candy. He didn’t know what perfume or lotions Leila used, but she always smelled good, and every time Kris had cotton candy he thought of her. Kris made a little sound that he would swear wasn’t a sob as he wrapped his arms around her and just hung on tight.

“Oh, sweetie,” she said against the side of Kris’ head. “Thank god you’re alright. We were so worried when we heard you were on your way to LA.”

Kris couldn’t help the way his eyes tracked Adam’s progress up the driveway to the garage.

“We were all worried,” Leila said meaningfully.

Kris ducked his head, embarrassed at how transparent he was being. When her words registered, Kris said, “Wait, how did you know . . . ?”

“Your mother called. When she couldn’t get through to you, she tried me. And it’s a good thing she did; we would’ve hated to miss you.”

Kris wasn’t surprised that his mother had used the same tactic he’d used himself.

Leila gave him another tight squeeze before releasing him. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” Kris admitted softly.

As soon as Leila stepped back, Allison took her place. She punched Kris in the arm (which really hurt because Allison didn’t pull her punches), and then hugged him so tight it was difficult to breathe. (Not that Kris was fool enough to say that to her.)

“Come on.” Alli released Kris from the vise grip of her hug and took his hand. Ever pragmatic, she said, “You probably need to pee.”

He hadn’t noticed it before, but now that she’d mentioned it, the need to pee was very strong. “Oh man,” Kris said, resisting the urge to cross his legs. “I do now.”

Alli laughed, which drew Adam’s attention. He glanced over, and then turned back to the clipboard he and Brad had been going over. As Alli led him into the house through the garage entrance, Kris got his first look at the items taking up most of the space – cases of water, boxes of food, and jugs of gasoline.

Kris bit back an hysterical laugh at the thought that it looked like Adam was preparing for the end of the world.

“What’s going on?” he asked Alli once they were inside the quiet of the house.

“We’re leaving LA before the tsunami hits,” she said.

Kris didn’t react to that until he was inside the bathroom. Now Leila’s comment made sense. He had never considered that Adam might not be there when he got to LA; he’d only thought about how badly he wanted to see him.

Kris calmed down and did his business, then washed his hands and face, which felt tired and grimy from two days on the road. When he emerged from the bathroom, Allison was down the hall a ways talking with Danielle. They both looked up when Kris cleared his throat to let them know he was there.

Danielle gave Kris a look that scared him a little bit, and he actually took a step back when she moved towards him. Instead of the punch to the nose her expression promised, she just called him a dumbass as she pulled him into yet another hug.

“Come on, we’re meeting in the living room,” Danielle said when she finally pulled back.

Kris followed Danielle and Alli through the kitchen where they each grabbed a drink, then through the dining room where Monte leaned over a table covered with maps and other papers, and into the living room, where a bunch of Adam’s friends and family had gathered. Aside from Allison, Danielle and Leila, Kris recognized Alisan and Cassidy, Amy and Lisa, and Mrs. Iraheta.

All eyes turned on them when they entered, and Kris felt like a bug under a microscope, even after most of them turned away with a nod or wave of acknowledgment. Afraid to jinx himself, Kris had tried not to think about how his reunion with Adam would go, but somehow he’d never anticipated that the first time he saw Adam in two years would be witnessed by so many.

One guy that Kris didn’t recognize stared at him until Kris felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny and looked away. He could still feel the man’s eyes on him, though, and was grateful when Mrs. Iraheta approached him. She gave him a hug, and then stayed beside him and Allison, asking him about his journey, and inquiring after his parents.

Finally Adam and Brad, trailed by Eber and Tommy, entered the room. The man Kris hadn’t recognized set his drink on the mantle and sauntered over to Adam. Kris recognized the message as the other man slid a possessive arm around Adam’s waist and tipped his face up. It felt like someone was squeezing Kris’ heart when Adam absently dropped a kiss on the man’s lips. Kris lowered his eyes, but not before he saw the triumphant smirk aimed his way.

“Gag me,” Allison muttered under her breath at the display.

Kris couldn’t even manage a weak smile at her support. The situation was too close to the nightmare scenarios he’d let play out in his head over the past two years, every time he thought about contacting Adam.

And even when he’d driven out here to see Adam once more before the world ended, there were a few things Kris had refused to let himself think about – not being able to find Adam, for one, or Adam not wanting to see him once he did. Or Adam having someone in his life. Now that he was here, with Adam and the life he’d created after Kris left staring him in the face, Kris wondered at the futility of it. For the first time he allowed himself to consider the fact that he might have made a mistake in coming to LA.

Kris turned when someone tapped him on the shoulder, thankful to be able to take his eyes off Adam and whomever his new boyfriend was. It was Monte, and once he’d gotten Kris’ attention he gestured for Kris to follow him. Kris excused himself to Alli and her mom and gladly followed Monte out of the living room.

Monte stopped in the dining room. “Anyone told you what’s going on?”

Kris shook his head. “Well, Alli said you’re all leaving, but that’s it.”

“Yeah, tomorrow morning,” Monte said.

Kris’ stomach turned over unpleasantly at how close he’d come to missing Adam altogether. Apparently both his head and his heart were confused over this whole mess.

“If you’re going to be driving, and I’m assuming you’ll want to take your truck, you should be familiar with our route, such as it is.”

Monte indicated the map spread out on the dining room table, then walked around to where he’d been standing over it when Kris had first seen him. Kris followed and joined him in looking down at the map, which had various routes outlined in different color highlighter.

“Where are you headed?”

“East,” Monte said. “Away from the coastline. After that, it depends on a lot of factors, like whether we’re still here to care.”

“I hope we are,” Kris said. “The highways are going to be impassable. Coming out, the closer I got to the city, the more gridlocked they were. People were even starting to use the westbound lanes to head east.”

“Which is why we’re staying away from the highways,” Monte said. “We’re going to stick to secondary and back roads. We’re using SUVs instead of our cars in case we need to go off road. And we’re avoiding major cities. The further inland we get, there should be fewer people trying to escape the coast. Getting out of LA may be the biggest hurdle.”

Monte tapped one of the highlighted routes. “We’re following this route as much as we can.”

Route 66, Kris noted, which paralleled I-40 across much of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, until it started veering north into Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois, just missing the northwestern corner of Arkansas. Kris wondered if it was happenstance that Adam’s escape route from LA led him almost directly to Kris.

When they stepped back into the living room, whatever planning session had been underway appeared to be over. Everyone had broken up into smaller groups to converse, but Adam and Brad still had their heads bent over the clipboard. Adam’s boyfriend turned his gaze onto Kris, and he shifted nervously under the other man’s regard.

Monte leaned close, and said, “Doug. He’s too new to take himself as seriously as he does.”

Kris nodded to let Monte know he’d heard him, but wasn’t sure he felt better being able to put a name to his face. And he couldn’t help wondering at the fact that at least Monte and Allison appeared to be rooting for him in some kind of competition Kris didn’t even know he was entering.

Doug walked over to Adam from where he’d been chatting with Cassidy and Amy, and speaking loud enough for Kris (and everyone else in the room) to hear, said, “What’s he doing here?”

Adam glanced at Kris for a second, said, “He’s going with us,” and then returned his attention to his conversation with Brad, effectively dismissing Doug and his concern about Kris.

Kris had never before felt so much like an outsider in Adam’s life. Even Adam’s statement of inclusion hadn’t been spoken reassuringly, but as if he really had no choice since Kris had foisted himself on them. Once again Kris wondered if he’d made a mistake in coming.

“Why is he coming?” Doug said, unwilling to let the subject drop. “What’s he got to offer?”

“What do any of us have to offer?” Tommy said, shrugging.

“It’s not about that,” Danielle said, defending Kris even though she’d probably wanted to cut his balls off when he’d left Adam.

“Actually,” Kris said as he raised his hand, feeling the perverse urge to act out, “I brought granola bars.”

“Gran—,” Doug said, voice tinged with disbelief.

Alli snickered.

Doug turned his ire on her. “You think this is funny?”

Beatrix piped up, “I like granola bars.”

“Who doesn’t like granola bars?” Lisa said, tickling Beatrix until she giggled.

Kris had to bite his lip to hold back a bark of hysterical laughter as Doug went apoplectic. He thought that he probably really shouldn’t feel such glee at causing dissent amongst the ranks, as it were.

Adam knew Kris too well; he shot him a look and rolled his eyes at him, then said, “We’re not leaving anyone behind,” and gave the room a look that said the decision was final and he didn’t want to hear any more nonsense about it.

Monte poked Kris in the arm. “Dude, you really got granola bars?”

Kris smiled sheepishly. “Yeah.”

“What else have you got?”

Kris and Monte went outside and unloaded the food and water from the truck. Kris opened the back and showed him the supplies he and his father had gathered. Monte spoke into the walkie talkie he carried and Brad soon joined them to look over Kris’ contribution and add it to his list.

Kris and Monte added the water, food and gas to the stores in the garage. They left the camping gear in the truck, but Monte pointed out the table top propane grill they had, as well as the extra propane tanks. Kris nodded, impressed; they had gathered a lot of supplies in the short amount of time they’d had since the President had made the announcement about the asteroid.

Monte and Brad went back inside, but Kris didn’t feel like joining the others. He felt out of sorts, and out of place. He walked around the house and found the garden that would soon be destroyed. He walked among the various flowers, taking a moment to enjoy the gorgeous colors and lovely scents.

Kris took a seat in the swing and looked out over the pool. The sun was setting, and if he was patient he’d be able to make out a few stars in the night sky. It reminded him of all the stars he could see from his deck at home, and the way the moon splashed across the lake.

He was sorry he’d never see that again, but he couldn’t regret his decision to come to LA. Things may not have worked out quite as he’d hoped they might, but just being able to see Adam again, sharing that one hug, was worth the trip. It had to be. Kris absently played with the ring, wondering if it would have been better for Adam if he hadn’t come. Adam was in the middle of planning an evacuation of his friends and family from LA, and Kris’ sudden appearance had to be an unnecessary complication.

Kris jerked his head up when a pair of black boots filled his vision. Adam. Kris wiped his palms on his thighs and leaned back in the swing as he raised his eyes. “Hey.”

Adam didn’t bother beating around the bush. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

Kris huffed out a humorless laugh as Adam’s question paralleled his own thoughts. “I wanted to see you,” he said simply.

Adam studied him for a moment, then nodded. “After two years you suddenly decided you wanted to see me *now*.”

Kris shook his head. There was no reason now not to be completely honest, if there ever had been, so he said, “I’ve wanted to see you everyday; time just suddenly ran out on me.”

“Did you even have any idea how dangerous it would be, coming out here?” Adam demanded.

“No,” Kris said honestly. He’d thought of nothing but seeing Adam.

Adam sighed. “What do you want?”

Kris didn’t know how to answer that. He wanted so much, and yet, they had so little time. Was it fair to lay all that on Adam when they only had a few days left?

“You just come out here and disrupt everything?” Adam said when Kris didn’t answer.

‘Disrupt my life,’ Kris heard. “I didn’t mean to do that,” he said tiredly. He’d never thought about it from Adam’s perspective, and he’d been unable to allow himself to think the worst. As much as he’d feared it wouldn’t be so, he’d needed to believe that Adam would be just as happy to see him, as Kris would be to see Adam. “I just wanted to see you before . . . .”

“You had two years to see me.”

“So did you,” Kris said, feeling a fire in his belly.

“You left _me_!” Adam said, as if Kris might have forgotten.

Kris pushed off the swing, angry as all the hurt he’d felt back then came rushing back. “You _let_ me leave!”

Kris closed his eyes and pulled back, trying to rein in his emotions. He hadn’t planned on a confrontation with Adam. Perhaps that had been naive. Kris sighed and dropped back down on the swing.

“I thought you’d come after me,” Kris admitted, speaking the words out loud for the first time.

“I waited for you to come home.”

“Twenty-eight days,” Kris said automatically, and then mentally kicked himself for the slip.

“What?”

In for a penny, in for a pound, Kris thought. “Twenty-eight days is how long you waited . . . .”

“What are you . . . ?”

“. . . before you moved on. We get gossip rags in Arkansas, too, Adam.”

Adam looked like he’d been sucker punched, and then it was gone. “Kris, that wasn’t . . . .”

Kris waved off whatever it was Adam was going to say. Suddenly he felt very tired, defeated. “You know, you’re right,” Kris said, biting back the scream fighting to claw it’s way out. “I should never have come here. And disrupted your life. I’m sorry.”

Kris stood and wiped his hand through his hair. He didn’t want to start out when it was still dark, because LA right now was the most dangerous place he’d ever been in his life, and he’d been to Haiti after the earthquake, but . . . . “You can open the gates early, before the others are up; I’ll head back to Arkansas on my own.”

I love you, Kris thought, but he didn’t say it. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at Adam; leaving was hard enough as it was. Kris walked past Adam and headed for the side of the house, having no idea, really, where he was going so long as it was away from Adam.

“No!” Adam snarled, and Kris stumbled as the word stabbed into his heart. “I’m not letting you leave this time.”

But he let Kris walk away.

~*~*~*~

Alli woke Kris with a cup of coffee before the sun was up. He sat up and took the cup gratefully. He’d gotten his sleeping bag out of the truck last night and found a spot on the back lawn. He had no idea if there was room in the house, but he had no interest in sleeping under the same roof where Adam would be sharing a bed with someone else.

Kris rubbed a hand through hair he knew was probably sticking up all over the place. He took a couple more sips of coffee before looking through bleary eyes at Alli as she squatted beside him, and saying, “Thank you.”

She grinned. “You’re welcome. If you hurry you can get a shower,” she said as she straightened. “We’re making breakfast.”

Kris finished the coffee, then pulled his legs out of the sleeping bag so he could shove his feet into his sneakers. He shook the bag out, rolled it up, and carried it back to the truck. Kris had been wearing the same clothes for two days, so he took Alli up on her offer of a shower. He grabbed his duffel out of the backseat of the truck, then entered the house through the garage.

Kris dropped off the empty coffee cup in the kitchen, stole a piece of sausage that he had to juggle because it burnt his fingers, and followed Leila’s directions to a bathroom he could use. Kris had to admit that he felt a little bit better after the shower. He still wasn’t thrilled with the way the conversation between him and Adam had gone the previous night, but there was something to be said for the effect of being clean on your outlook.

Neither Adam nor Doug were in the kitchen when Kris stopped on his way back through. He scarfed down a breakfast burrito and a glass of orange juice, remembering that he hadn’t eaten since he finished the last of his mother’s chicken and potato salad for breakfast yesterday. He was too nervous once he finally reached the streets of LA, and after he saw Adam again, to even think about eating.

Kris wrapped a second burrito in a napkin for later, then helped Leila and Danielle pack the leftovers and contents of the fridge into a cooler, while Alli and Amy did the dishes. From the conversation between the ladies, Kris determined that Alisan had taken baby-sitting duty and was helping Lisa get the kids ready and keep them occupied.

“You don’t have to help,” Leila said.

Kris didn’t think he’d be much help outside; they already had their plans made and he didn’t have any suggestions to offer anyway. “I want to,” he said. “Besides, this way I know where to find the good stuff.”

Leila smiled at him as she packed ice packs and frozen meat around milk and yogurt and orange juice. When the kitchen was sparkling and all the dishes put away, Kris helped carry the cooler out to the garage. Kris saw that a pile of suitcases and duffel bags had joined the other supplies. He dropped his own duffel at his feet and stood next to Alli, waiting to find out what happened next.

Monte came around the corner with the twins; Atticus rode on his back, and Beatrix stood on his foot and clung to his leg, making him walk with an exaggerated limp. Alisan and Lisa followed him with the two older children, Ariel and Aurora, trailing behind them. Tommy ducked in with Cassidy. Eber moved over to stand beside Amy. Doug didn’t move from his spot beside Adam, who was speaking with Brad again, though he did take a moment to send a glare Kris’ way before sliding a possessive hand up Adam’s arm.

Alli snorted beside Kris. “Don’t worry about him.”

“I’m not,” Kris said, even though he totally was. He just didn’t have any right to.

Adam raised his hand to get everyone’s attention, though most of them had already been waiting silently for him to speak.

“Okay,” Adam said, “it looks like no one else is going to make it.”

Alli reached out and squeezed Kris’ hand. Kris thought Adam sounded sad about that, but he buried his emotions and continued.

“Let’s get everything loaded up, then.”

Everyone seemed to know what they were doing, so Kris followed their lead. Cases of water and boxes of food were divided between the four SUVs; gas jugs were loaded onto the trailer (along with what Kris saw when he got up close was a generator) and tied down; suitcases and duffel bags were loaded into the RVs; and sleeping bags and other camping supplies into the back of Kris’ truck.

Alli explained that they were dividing up water and food between the different SUVs in case they lost one. Kris was silent while they loaded, intent on doing his job. He ignored the dirty looks Doug shot his way, and the one shoulder bump that nearly knocked him on his ass, but Adam took Doug aside after that last one for a private conversation Kris couldn’t hear, though neither of them looked happy.

Kris waited until Adam was alone before he approached him. Monte had shown Kris their route, had made sure he knew they were staying away from the main highways. He figured he could find his way if he went on ahead, or lagged behind the others. He wondered if Monte had known it might come to this.

“Hey, Adam,” Kris said. “Listen, maybe it might be better if I . . . .”

Adam turned on Kris angrily, eyes flashing with emotions Kris couldn’t even put a word to. “No! You are not leaving me again, Kristopher!”

Everyone went silent at Adam’s outburst. It was broken by Doug’s bitter laugh, and then Adam swore, “Fuck!” He ignored Kris standing there like a guppy, with his mouth open, and went after Doug, who had taken off.

Kris sighed and pushed his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he said, speaking to no one in particular and everyone. He took the few steps towards his duffel bag and kicked it. “Shit,” he muttered softly.

“He’s a douchebag,” Tommy supplied mildly.

Kris’ head shot up. “Adam loves him.”

Brad snorted. “He’s convenient. Adam hasn’t loved anyone since you left.”

At the sound of one of the SUVs starting up and taking off, everyone turned and looked down the driveway. Adam returned alone. He looked worn down and weary, and Kris felt a measure of guilt for that.

“We just lost some of our food and water,” Adam said pragmatically, as if he hadn’t lost the man he’d been sleeping with, whether he loved him or not. “And one of our hitches.” He looked at Kris. “You ever haul anything before?”

“Boat,” Kris said.

Adam nodded. “Okay, we hook the trailer to the truck.”

Within moments the last of the supplies were loaded, the trailer was hitched to Kris’ truck, and the RVs to two of the SUVs. Everyone piled into the vehicles and they started out.

Kris was surprised when he saw Leila and Danielle standing next to his truck. He guessed that with Doug and the other SUV gone, whoever was supposed to ride with him got stuck with Kris. He reached into the backseat and took out his guitar case. He stared at it for a moment, then said, “I should leave this here.”

“Take it,” Leila said.

“We might need music,” Danielle agreed.

Kris cushioned the case between the sleeping bags in the back, then closed the top. He got in the truck and started it, not surprised to see that someone had thought to fill his tanks before they began their exodus. Kris had to wipe his hands on his jeans when Adam opened the passenger side door and swung into the truck.

Adam spoke into the walkie talkie that Kris thought might be glued to his hand, “Okay, let’s go,” and the caravan started moving out.

Monte drove the lead car, with Tommy, Alli and Mrs. Iraheta. His was the only vehicle not hauling anything. Eber and Amy, with Lisa and twins went next. Brad, Cassidy, Alisan with Ariel and Aurora went third, and Kris went last. Kris wasn’t the slightest bit surprised that Adam wanted to be able to keep an eye on everyone, or that he’d been named the de facto leader of the group.

It took them nearly three hours just to get out of LA. Kris’ knuckles were white on the steering wheel by the time they left the rioting and looting behind. They waited until they were north of San Bernardino on Route 66 before stopping for a potty break. The kids complained of hunger, though Kris thought it was mostly boredom, so they passed out water bottles and broke into the granola bars. Turned out that Beatrix really did love them. Kris shared the cold and slightly squished burrito he’d stuffed into his jacket pocket with Alli.

They kept driving until they crossed the Colorado River into Arizona. The scenery was beautiful, but it wasn’t enough to keep their trip by turns monotonous and terrifying. Leila and Danielle conversed quietly in the back, sometimes managing to drag Adam or Kris into their conversation, but Kris and Adam were silent for the most part, except for the occasional query via the walkie talkies regarding the vehicles and other travelers on the road.

Leila reminded Adam that the children would need to relieve themselves, and eat, so Adam told Monte to find a spot that looked good and pull over. No one wanted to waste too much time on cooking, so they broke out the snack packs of applesauce, mixed fruit, and pudding, and washed it down with water.

When they got going again, Lisa climbed into one of the Airstreams with Beatrix and Atticus so they could nap in comfort, and fresh drivers were behind the wheel. Kris was happy to relinquish his spot to Adam. He was on the verge of sleep when Monte’s voice came over the walkie talkie.

“There’s something up ahead.”

“Can you make it out?” Adam asked.

“Not yet,” Monte said, and then a few seconds later, “Car on the side of the road. Looks like they broke down.”

“Okay, be careful just in case.”

Both Tommy and Amy passed the car without mishap, but when their truck, which had moved into the three spot, drew even with them, Leila exclaimed, “Oh, Adam, they have a baby.”

Adam rolled his eyes as he glanced across the cab at Kris. Kris didn’t know what Adam saw on his face, but he sighed and swore. He placed the walkie talkie near his mouth. “Alright, everyone, we’re stopping.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Cassidy said.

“No,” Adam said, biting off the word. “Everyone stay in the cars until we know what’s up. Monte?”

“Yep,” Monte said.

The truck rolled to a stop. Adam put the engine in park and then got out. He didn’t say anything when Kris followed him (because he sure as hell wasn’t letting Adam go alone), though he looked like he wanted to. As they approached the couple, the man shifted nervously. Kris kept his eyes on him even as the woman took a step forward and said, “Thank you for stopping; everyone else just passed us.”

“Looks like you overheated,” Adam said. “We can spare you some radiator fluid.”

Even though he’d been watching the man, Kris was still surprised when he raised his arm and pointed a gun at them. “We want one of your cars.”

“Bill?” the woman said, sounding just as surprised as Kris felt.

“Stay out of this, Carla,” the man said as he waved the gun at Adam.

“I’m sorry,” Adam said evenly, “but we can’t spare a vehicle.”

“Better’n a bullet hole, ain’t it?” Bill said, the gun shaking in his hand.

Kris wondered fearfully whether the man was on drugs.

“Look, maybe we can make a deal,” Kris said, wanting to take the man’s attention off of Adam.

“There is no deal!” Bill yelled. “We’re going to die if we stay here!”

Bill’s hand shook as he pointed the gun in Kris’ direction, and then Adam’s, uncertain as to at which one of them he should be pointing it.

“You’re not going to die,” Adam began reasonably. “You’re far enough from the coast now.”

“Where are you headed?” Kris asked Carla, hoping to defuse the situation.

“My mama’s,” Carla said, her eyes wide on Bill as she clutched at the baby that had started to cry.

“Shut up!” Bill yelled.

Before he could decide that shooting one of them would be a good idea, Monte silently slipped around the back of the Airstream Cassidy’d been hauling with a tire iron in his hand. He snuck up behind Bill, who was totally focused on Kris and Adam, and brought the iron down on his forearm hard enough to make his fingers go nerveless and force him to release the gun.

The gun fell to the ground and Kris dove for it, just in case Bill got any bright ideas about trying for them with his other hand. Kris dangled it by the grip held between thumb and index finger, unsure what to do with it. Monte took the gun from Kris and emptied it, then tossed everything into the brush at the side of the road.

Carla squeaked, then said fearfully, “Please don’t hurt him.”

“We’re not going to hurt him,” Kris assured her. Though he might have felt differently if the idiot had shot Adam.

Alisan came over and probed a whining Bill’s arm. “It isn’t broken,” she finally said, “it just feels that way.”

“Carla,” Kris said, still trying to calm her down. “We’re going to fill your radiator, okay?”

Kris ignored Adam’s eye roll and didn’t say anything when he stomped off, and then returned with a bottle of radiator fluid. Before Kris could enquire about the baby, Leila was there, doing her mothering thing with both Carla and the baby, whose name was Darcy, after Carla’s brother who’d died in Iraq a couple years ago.

Kris figured Leila was better suited to this job, so he stepped back and let her handle things. By the time they got back on their way, everyone had tumbled out of the vehicles to coo over the baby, and they’d dug into their supplies to give Carla and Bill milk and applesauce for Darcy, who’d just turned a year, and a case of water, and also filled the tank from their gas reserves.

~*~*~*~

The truck seats were comfortable, but after being held at gunpoint, Kris couldn’t relax enough to make another attempt at a nap. Leila and Danielle didn’t appear to have that problem, and soft snores soon filled the cab. Without the two of them speaking together in low tones, or attempting to draw Kris and Adam into conversation, it seemed too quiet.

There were so many things that Kris wanted to tell Adam, to ask him, but they all got jumbled up between brain and tongue. It didn’t help that he wasn’t ready – and didn’t think now was the best time – to have _that_ conversation. He tried to think of a neutral topic, but was still afraid what might come out of his mouth if he opened it.

Finally Kris couldn’t take the silence any longer, and he blurted out the thing that was on his mind at that moment. “How did you get all this together?” Kris gestured with his hand to indicate their new aged wagon train, and everyone and everything in it.

Adam shrugged. “Even in a crisis money can get you pretty much anything. Might cost twice as much, but you can get it.”

“It must have taken a lot of planning,” Kris mused.

“That was mostly mom,” Adam admitted.

Kris could see that, but, “Then why did Brad have the clipboard?”

Adam gave a little huff of laughter, the first Kris had heard since finding him. “Mom put him in charge of inventory because he was driving her nuts. Plus, he’s pretty good at organizing shit.”

Kris had been to several parties thrown by Brad, so he had to agree. Brad rivaled Adam for planning things down to the last detail, and he organized his parties with nearly military precision. He’d even helped Kris plan a party when Adam’s third album went platinum.

Kris wiped his palms on his thighs at the memory. His hand touched the cell stuffed in his pocket and he pulled it out. He should call his mom, let her know that he’d arrived safely. Even though he didn’t expect the call to go through, Kris was disappointed when he got the recorded message.

“Trying your mom?”

Kris nodded.

“Keep trying,” Adam encouraged.

So Kris did.

Adam even withdrew his own cell phone from his pocket and handed it to Kris. He shrugged. “I don’t know if it’ll make a difference, but try mine, too. They’re still in my contacts.”

Kris scrolled through Adam’s contacts until he found ‘Kim & Neil Allen’ listed. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that his own name was still listed in Adam’s contacts, as well. Of course, Adam was still listed in Kris’. Sure, he’d deleted him on day 29, but he’d stared at the number so many times, his thumb hovering over the call button, that it had been no problem adding it back in when he finally just could no longer stand the idea of it not being there.

Kris alternated between phones. After half an hour of dialing, a call went through. His mother answered on the second ring.

“Adam?” she said, sounding both pleased and worried.

“Mama?”

“Kristopher! Oh, Kris, sweetheart. Neil, it’s Kris!” she called out to Kris’ father, and then spoke into the phone, “How are you?”

“I’m fine, Mama,” Kris said, having to force the words out past the lump in his throat.

Kris spoke to both his mom, and then his dad, assuring each of them in turn that he really was fine.

“I guess you found Adam,” his mom said.

Kris blushed, even though her words had been spoken with complete innocence. “Yes.”

“How is he?”

Kris couldn’t help glancing over at Adam. “He’s fine. Everyone’s fine.”

Adam glanced over at Kris with a raised eyebrow, then held out his hand for the phone.

“Uh, hold on,” Kris told his mother, then placed the phone in Adam’s hand.

“Hey, Mom,” Adam said into the phone.

Kris heard his mom exclaim, “Adam, oh, sweetheart, it’s so good to hear your voice,” and had to turn away so he could blink back tears without Adam noticing.

Adam explained to Kim that they’d left LA, and then he fell silent, listening to her speak. Kris could make out the sound of her voice, but not the words. Adam glanced over at Kris, stared at him for a moment, then turned his attention back to the road.

“I will,” Adam said into the phone in response to something she had said, and then handed it back to Kris.

“Mama?”

“You boys be careful, now, sweetie.”

“We will be,” he assured her.

“Take care of Adam.”

Kris froze, guessing he now knew what she’d said to Adam. His tongue felt too big for his mouth, but finally he managed to say, “I will.”

Kris spoke with his dad again, told them both that he loved them, and then ended the call. He fidgeted with the phone, then worked up the nerve to ask Adam, “What did she say to you?”

Adam just looked at him, then back at the road. “What did she say to you?”

Kris didn’t want to answer that; he was afraid he’d given too much away just by coming to LA. And then he kicked himself, because wasn’t that the point? This was it, his last chance, so what the heck was he waiting for?

“She said to be careful, both of us, all of us. And that I should take care of you.”

Kris waited, anxious about what Adam’s reaction would be to the idea of Kris taking care of him.

“Same,” Adam said.

“Same?”

“She told me to take care of you, too.”

“Oh.”

And Adam had said he would, just as Kris had. But Adam’s reaction to Kris coming to LA was still fresh. He wondered if Adam had said that because he would take care of anyone he felt responsible for, and now that Kris was here (instead of stupid Doug, Kris thought uncharitably), he felt responsible for him.

“You were mad at me,” Kris said. “For coming.”

“Of course I was mad at you!” Adam said. “You rushed headlong into danger with no thought about your own safety! That pisses me off,” he finished with a finger poke in Kris’ arm.

“Ow,” Kris said, reaching up to rub the spot. “Sorry.”

Adam left him to stew about that for a few minutes before adding, “Not that I wasn’t glad to see you, or that I’m sorry you’re here now.”

It took Kris a few seconds to work through that, and then he smiled to himself. “Oh.”

There was movement in the backseat as one of the ladies stirred awake.

“You boys got any water left up there?” Leila asked. “I finished mine, and I’m parched.”

Kris handed back his half full bottle and smiled at her even as he wondered how much of their conversation she’d overheard.

After she quenched her thirst, Leila said, “Kris, honey, did I hear you talking to your mom?”

Kris blushed as her question answered his own. “Yeah.”

“How are they doing?”

“Good,” Kris said. He turned in his seat so he could see Leila. “Adam tells me you organized this whole ‘Escape from LA’ thing.”

Leila snorted at his description, then shrugged, which made her look so very much like Adam that it made Kris’ heart ache. “I’ve been told that I’m very good at running people’s lives, so I figured it was right up my alley.”

Kris shot a look at Adam, who smirked at his mother in the rearview mirror at her comment.

“How’d you get everyone together?”

Leila told him how they’d called, and then searched out everyone they could, left notes for others, and she looked sad when she admitted that they couldn’t get a hold of everyone.

Kris bit his lip, then softly asked, “Where’s Neil? Still in New York?”

Leila nodded. “We spoke to him once, not long after the announcement. Adam told him to get his ass out of the city.”

“Lee and Scarlett are there, too,” Adam said, sounding worried. “Lee had a shoot, and they decided to make it a family vacation. Brooke’s in Chicago. I’m not sure where everyone else is.”

And of course Adam would beat himself up about that, because he was Adam. Kris wanted to reach out and touch him, to offer comfort, but he didn’t think they were there yet.

~*~*~*~

They didn’t stop again until the sun was starting to set. Adam radioed Monte and told him and Tommy to find a place to set up camp for the night, and they pulled off the road just outside a small town called Peach Springs. Eber and Cassidy pulled the RVs off further, so that the truck and other SUV were between them and the road, and angled them so that they could set up camp in the resultant ‘V’.

Kris showed Leila and Lisa how to use the camp stove, then grabbed Alli and went in search of dry wood to use to build a fire. It was still warm, but the night would cool off as soon as the sun set. When they both had an armful, they returned to camp. Kris cleared off a place for the fire and built a small ring of rocks to contain it. He wasn’t actually a Boy Scout, so Kris used a match to light the twigs and dry grass on fire.

Alli pretended to warm her hands over the tiny flame, which made Kris smile. While he built up the fire, Lisa oversaw the preparation of several boxes of macaroni and cheese. Sleeping bags and water and dishes were unloaded, a latrine was dug, and children were wrangled. Kris couldn’t help watching how Adam moved from group to group, offering a hand and an encouraging word. Finally Adam knelt by the fire.

“This looks great,” he said, holding out one hand over the flame. “I didn’t know you could build a fire.”

Kris smiled. “I offered to take you camping once.”

“I guess I’m not much for the outdoors,” Adam said.

Kris could have kicked himself at the way Adam’s face closed up. He stared at the flickering fire as Adam walked away. He sat on the sleeping bag Alli tossed down beside him, and took the dish of macaroni and cheese when it was handed to him. He ate without tasting it, his eyes on the hard packed ground at his feet.

After everyone had cleaned their plates, the children started making noises about having something sweet. It reminded Kris of the apple pie his mother had packed into the bottom of the cooler. He checked the back of the SUVs until he found the small cooler and dug out the pie plate.

“Oh my god, your mother’s?” Alli said when she saw Kris standing there with the pie plate in his hands.

Kris nodded. “There’s only enough for everyone to have a couple bites.”

“My mouth’s already watering,” Tommy said. (He’d made it a point to visit their house on what all of Adam’s friends had started calling ‘Care Package Day’ and was not shy about asking for a cookie or two when he could get Kris or Adam to admit to having received goodies from Arkansas.)

They counted heads and sliced the pie into slivers. Everyone eagerly held out their plates for the tiny slices of pie. After everyone had been served except Adam and Monte, who had wandered off together, Kris ate his slice right out of the pie plate. He tried to savor it, but it was gone too soon. Before the others (Alli and Tommy were licking their forks and eyeing him up) could steal the last two slices, Kris went in search of Adam and Monte.

“I saved your slices of pie,” Kris said when he found them. “Those people are hyenas,” he joked.

Adam gave him a look he couldn’t decipher, but he took the fork from Kris and ate the few bites of pie. When he was done, Kris handed the plate to Monte.

“You know,” Monte said when he finished, “if I wasn’t already married, your dad would have a fight on his hands.”

Kris chuckled. “Well, he’s been eating my mama’s cooking for years,” he said as he rubbed his belly. “Not sure if that would work for or against him if it came to a fight. He’d have the advantage of will to win, but be slowed down by the extra pounds.”

Monte burst out with a laugh.

Adam said, “I’m gonna go get the radio,” turned on his heels, and stalked off.

Kris watched Adam’s back as he walked away from them. Him.

Monte patted Kris’ shoulder. “Come on, he’ll bring it back to camp.”

When they got back to the others, Leila took the pie plate from Monte.

“I can do that,” Kris said, reaching for the plate.

Leila squeezed his hand. “You provided the goodies, I’ll do clean up duty.”

“Technically, his mother provided the goodies,” Monte said.

Kris elbowed him in the side.

“Ow! Just saying!” Monte laughed.

“I drove it to LA.”

“Point,” Monte conceded.

Adam returned with the portable radio. As soon as the kids had been tucked into bed on one of the Airstreams, they turned it on. They’d been listening to the radio all day during the long drive, but they couldn’t help hoping that they might hear something different than the same reports that had been playing over and over.

After assuring themselves that nothing had changed, Adam turned the radio down. He set up a watch schedule, just in case, and then everyone who wasn’t sleeping in the Airstream rolled out their sleeping bags and got settled. It was early still, but driving long distances was tiring on a good day, and today, with their own personal version of Escape from LA, had not been a good one. Kris’ hands still ached from gripping the steering wheel so tightly.

Kris went to sleep with Alli and Tommy on either side of him, and woke up snuggled between them, the others having rolled in to share body heat during the night. Even before his eyes opened Kris could smell the coffee brewing. He wiggled out of the sleeping bag, trying not to wake either of his sleep mates, and followed his nose to where Adam was standing over the small stove, watching the coffee pot.

Kris wasn’t surprised that Adam was up so early, even though he’d taken first watch. Kris shivered as he stumbled over to Adam and leaned against his back. The morning was cool, now that he’d left the warmth of the sleeping bag behind.

“Cold,” Kris said as he slipped his hands beneath Adam’s arms to warm them.

Adam stiffened. “Kris, I don’t think . . . .”

The morning haze lifted from Kris’ brain and he jerked back away from Adam, almost tripping over his own feet in his haste. “Sorry,” he said, mortified. “I don’t know what I . . . Sorry.”

Kris walked away, ignoring Adam softly calling his name. He wiped his face and pushed his fingers through his hair. Kris found a place to relieve himself, and then wandered back to the vehicles. He didn’t want to face Adam yet, but he felt ridiculous standing out there doing nothing. Kris reached into the truck for the binoculars Adam had been using, and checked their surroundings. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but then, he wasn’t sure he’d recognize it if he did.

Cassidy leaned against the truck next to Kris. “See anything?”

“No.” He dropped the binoculars to his side. “I don’t even know what I’m looking for.”

“Dinosaurs,” Cassidy said.

Kris snorted out a laugh. “Oh, god, can you imagine us all Land of the Lost?”

“Oh, I don’t know, I think we could kick some dinosaur ass.”

“If we didn’t get eaten for breakfast,” Kris said dryly.

“Speaking of breakfast,” Cassidy said as he pushed off the truck. “I could really use a cup of that coffee, too.”

“Yeah,” Kris said at the reminder of who had made the coffee, “coffee sounds good.”

Kris dropped the binoculars back inside the truck and followed Cassidy over to where the others were gathered for breakfast. Not yet ready to face Adam, Kris broke off and went over where his sleeping bag still lay on the ground. He dragged it away from the others so he wouldn’t get dirt on them, shook it out, and then rolled it up and tossed it into the back of the truck.

Alli wandered back over when she saw Kris doing the same with her sleeping bag. “I was gonna get that,” she said.

“I know,” Kris said. “I needed something to do.”

“Hiding from Adam?” Alli said knowingly.

“No,” Kris scoffed, and then walked over to the truck and added her sleeping bag to the back.

Before he could pick up the bag that Tommy had used, Alli held out the cup of coffee she’d been drinking from. Kris took it from her gratefully and took a large sip, which he immediately wanted to spit back out. He managed to swallow it, but nearly gagged in the attempt.

“Oh my god,” he said as he passed the cup back to Alli, “how much sugar did you put into that?”

“Just the right amount,” Alli said primly.

Kris tried to get the taste out of his mouth as he shook out and rolled the third sleeping bag. When he turned from tossing that one into the truck bed with the others, Adam was right there behind him, holding a cup of coffee. Adam held it out and Kris slowly reached out and took it.

“I can’t believe you drank Alli’s coffee.”

Kris wrinkled his nose. “I forgot how much sugar she uses.” He took a sip of the coffee and sighed his pleasure. “This is much better.”

Adam gave him a half smile. “Come on,” he said, “get something to eat.”

Cereal was set out next to the cooler of milk and yogurt. Kris took a yogurt and a granola bar. Beatrix stared at the granola bar in his hand and then gave him the stink eye. Kris hid behind Mrs. Iraheta to eat his breakfast. Brad announced that he thought maybe Kris could take Beatrix, but Kris wasn’t sure, especially when it came to granola bars.

They cleaned up all evidence of their presence, checked the fluid in the vehicles, and refilled the tanks.

“We’re good to go,” Danielle told Adam as she wiped her hands on a rag.

“Okay,” Adam said, “let’s load up.”

Everyone loaded up. Kris drove while Adam studied the map. Kris wondered what Adam was looking for, where they were headed, but was afraid to ask. They’d left the coast behind, so there was no danger of a tsunami reaching them here, but they had no idea where pieces of the asteroid (if they were able to break up but not necessarily divert it) would land. Anyplace they were could be the spot where an asteroid hit.

Once they’d left LA they hadn’t seen any rioting or looting, and no one (aside from Bill) had threatened them. Of course, they’d stayed away from major highways and large cities; things might be different there, even inland, as fear and a perceived lack of consequences took over. That train of thought took Kris back to LA; they hadn’t run into much traffic once they’d cleared the city, and even less once they were out of California.

It made Kris ponder whether most people had already left before them, or whether they hadn’t left at all, still lost in panic and denial. He wondered how many people were going to die; whether they all would. On the plus side, he’d get to spend the rest of his life with Adam. Kris had to bite back a bark of laughter at the inappropriate thought.

They held off stopping for a potty break until they’d passed Flagstaff, and then stopped for a lunch slash potty break once they’d cleared the New Mexico border. They put down the tailgate and used it as a work surface. Leila, Lisa and Mrs. Iraheta set up an assembly line and started churning out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Kris found himself starving, as if being out on the road had sharpened his appetite. No one complained about the simple fare, and several, including Kris, went back for seconds. And then they were back on the road again.

To take his mind off the path it had wandered down that morning, as well as the uninformative status reports they kept getting over the radio, Kris decided to strike up a conversation with Adam.

“How’s your work going on your new album?” Kris said.

Adam turned his head from scouring the landscape they passed. “What?”

“I just, I need to talk about something that’s not asteroid related, so, your album,” Kris explained.

“Oh!” Leila leaned forward. “You should tell Kris about the invitation you got to sing at your third cousin once removed Teddy’s Bar Mitzvah!”

Kris couldn’t help giggling. “Really?”

Adam rolled his eyes. “My album’s going well,” he said, and then went on to tell Kris about the writers and producers he was working with.

Kris met Leila’s eyes in the rearview mirror and smiled his thanks at her.

~*~*~*~

The drive that afternoon was much more relaxed than the day before. The urgency of getting out of LA and away from the coast had faded, and their conversation kept their minds off things that were beyond their control. Topics ranged from Adam’s album to a benefit concert at which Kris had performed, from Daniel expecting his second child to the disaster of Danielle’s last date. Leila asked what Kris’ parents had been up to, and Kris pretended not to notice that Adam hung on every word.

Before they reached the Texas border they made a pit stop, and the children, who were getting tired of riding in the cars, were moved to one of the RVs. Lisa expected the youngest to nap, and there were games and books to keep the older two entertained. Mrs. Iraheta joined them under the guise of needing a nap herself, but Kris wouldn’t be surprised if she convinced Lisa to lie down with the twins while she kept the other two occupied.

When they got back on the road, Adam took the wheel, and Kris gladly let him. They continued their conversation, purposely staying away from any mention of the asteroid. Kris also used the time he didn’t have to be paying attention to the road to study Adam. Kris didn’t think Adam was aware of the scrutiny, but Leila and Danielle were another matter entirely. Kris didn’t care how pathetic he looked – this might be the last time he got to see Adam, and he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.

A couple hours into their drive the emergency broadcast signal blared into the truck.

“Tell them to pull over,” Adam said.

Kris fumbled with the walkie talkie and passed along Adam’s instruction. They all pulled the vehicles over to the side of the road and waited to hear what was coming. This was the first time the emergency broadcast signal had gone off, and they didn’t know what to expect, though Kris prayed for good news. If the asteroid had been deflected, and the world spared, Kris would be glad for everyone on the planet, but most especially for the fact that he would have the opportunity to see if he and Adam might be able to create a future out of the mess of their past.

Adam rolled down the window and got out of the truck, pacing, but remaining close enough that he could hear when the news report started. Kris watched him as he spoke with Monte, as he pushed a hand through his hair and his shoulders slumped just for the briefest moment, and wanted, more than anything, to be able to touch Adam’s back in a show of support, to offer the comfort of a hug. It killed him that he’d walked away from his right to do that.

Finally the President came on. Kris was glad that they played his speech a second time, because he was still finding it difficult to absorb. The attempt to change the path of the asteroid had failed, but they had managed to break it up into smaller pieces. Unfortunately, that small success had also increased the speed of the bits of asteroid, and the time of impact had moved up by nearly eight hours. The time of bombardment was just after midnight, at twelve thirteen in the morning.

The specific points of impact had not yet been determined, but the areas of the North and South American continents were expected to be heavily hit. No one knew what to say. It was good news and bad news rolled into one. The world wasn’t going to end, but a lot of people were still going to lose their lives. And who knew what the future would hold for the survivors?

Finally Adam broke the silence. “We need to find a place to stay for the night,” he said tightly as he climbed into the truck and slammed the door.

They didn’t stop for the night until they’d made it past Amarillo. By then everyone was happy to get out of the vehicles to stretch their legs and backs. They set up camp as they had the previous night. Instead of macaroni and cheese, Leila pulled out the steak that had started the trip frozen. Mrs. Iraheta cut up potatoes, wrapped them in tinfoil with butter and salt, and tossed them into the fire Kris had built. Kris set up the adjustable grill over the fire, while Cassidy got out the propane grill.

Kris’ stomach growled the moment the flames licked at the steak and sent up the heavenly aroma of grilled meat. Monte and Tommy played some sort of hybrid game of tag football with the kids using a frisbee. Everyone else gathered around the grills as if the combined power of their minds would make the food cook faster. For moments at a time everything felt normal, and Kris could forget that they were all waiting to find out if they would be the lucky survivors of the asteroid, all of them wondering what the world would be like in the aftermath.

Grilled steak, baked potatoes and canned vegetables made for a fine last meal, even though Kris burned his fingers helping Mrs. Iraheta rescue the potatoes from the fire and gather them together. Everyone managed to remain lighthearted during the meal, if only for the sake of the kids. After they ate and cleaned up, Leila suggested some music. Kris retrieved his guitar from the back of the truck and handed it to Monte to start them off.

Monte played a few songs that they all knew, and everyone sang and clapped, and Allison even got Danielle and Alisan to get up and dance. Ariel and Aurora joined them, as well as Adam and Brad, but Kris just laughed and waved her off when Allison looked at him. Monte passed the guitar to Tommy. Cassidy and Alisan, everyone who could play, and even some of them who couldn’t, took turns with the guitar. They passed another hour singing and laughing and feeling normal.

When the children had been hustled off to bed, Brad broke out the whiskey. In addition to cleaning out their cupboards, Brad had apparently emptied his liquor cabinet.

“I only brought the good stuff,” he said. “Fucking ocean can have the cheap crap.”

When Brad left to get the liquor, Adam excused himself. He took one of the flashlights and headed to where they’d created their designated bathroom area. Kris waited a few seconds before he stepped back into the darkness outside the dancing light thrown off by the fire, and wandered after Adam. He tripped over uneven ground more than once, but didn’t want a flashlight or lantern to give him away.

Kris slipped behind the empty RV and waited for Adam to reappear from the trees. His stomach twisted with nerves when he saw the light from Adam’s flashlight bobbing through the leaves. When Adam came close enough to hear him, Kris softly spoke his name.

Adam swore. “Fuck! Kris? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“No, sorry.”

“What are you doing here? Didn’t you bring a flashlight? Come on, we should get back to camp.”

Kris reached out in the darkness. “Adam, wait, I . . . I want to talk to you.”

Adam sighed tiredly. “Kris . . . .”

“Not about that,” Kris said hurriedly, hating that he’d put that sound into Adam’s voice. “Not now, anyway. I want to talk about . . . this,” he said, waving his hand to indicate their entire camp.

“What about it?” Adam said.

“Where are we going?” Kris said. Before Adam could answer he went on. “I mean, Monte showed me the map, so I know we’re headed east, but we’ve gone far enough to be safe from a tsunami, if there even is one, so, I just . . . were you headed somewhere in particular?”

When Adam didn’t speak immediately Kris asked the question he really wanted the answer to, and not being able to see Adam’s face, knowing Adam couldn’t see his, made it easier. “Adam, were you coming to me?”

Kris waited, hoping against hope, even though he wasn’t sure Adam was going to answer him. Finally Adam spoke. He sounded weary and all Kris wanted to do was hold him and offer comfort.

“It would’ve been too late; I would’ve missed you anyway.”

“You don’t know that,” Kris said, his heart soaring. “We don’t know what’s going to happen tonight.”

“I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t just pick up and go, leave everyone behind.”

“I know,” Kris said. He felt brave enough to reach out and touch Adam’s arm.

“And I might have missed you anyway, since you decided to do the very stupid thing of driving into danger. I have nightmares,” Adam admitted, “of getting to Arkansas only to find out you’d been killed in LA.”

“I’m sorry,” Kris said again, stepping closer. “I just . . . you’re right, I didn’t think about anything except seeing you again. I didn’t even think about how my parents would feel about it, and they helped me pack. I was selfish. I just . . . wanted . . . .”

Kris brought his other hand up and touched Adam’s chest. He raised his face, and said, “Adam.”

For a moment Kris thought Adam was going to kiss him, but then he stepped back and Kris’ hands fell off him.

“We shouldn’t do this now.”

Kris’ entire body went heavy with the rush of disappointment he felt at Adam’s words. “You’re right,” he said, unable to keep the hurt out of his voice. “We’ve got plenty of time. I mean, it’s not as if the world might end tonight.”

Kris turned to walk away, not wanting Adam to see the tears he felt burning behind his eyes. Before he’d gotten far, Adam grabbed Kris’ arm and spun him around. Kris would have tripped over the uneven ground if Adam didn’t slide his hand behind Kris’ head and hold him steady. The flashlight hit the ground, the beam of light shining up into the sky, and Adam’s other hand went around Kris’ back.

“Adam,” Kris said again, full of hope and want, and then Adam’s mouth came down on his.

There was nothing gentle about the kiss. It was make up sex and oh my god we’re going to die sex in a kiss. It was hungry, and angry, and desperate. It was ‘why did you leave me’ and ‘thank god you’re here now’.

When they finally broke apart, gasping in air as they held each other up, Adam buried his face in Kris’ hair as he slipped one hand between them and palmed him through his jeans. Kris shuddered at the touch, and pushed into Adam’s hand. He tightened his hold on Adam’s shoulders and moaned his name.

Adam lowered his head and sucked on Kris’ neck. Kris dropped his head back, exposing his throat to Adam.

“I’ve missed the taste of you,” Adam said. “I want to be inside you,” he growled as he tore at the button on Kris’ jeans. “I want to hold you down until you’re begging for it, until you swear you’ll never leave me again.”

“I won’t,” Kris promised as he clung to Adam. “Adam, I won’t. Never. Please.”

“You’re mine, Kristopher.”

“Yes, Adam . . . .”

Adam bit down on the mark he’d left on Kris’ neck, claiming him with the gesture as much as he had with his words. The meaning of it, and the fact that he was here right now with Adam, sent sparks shooting throughout his body and behind his eyes as he emptied himself into Adam’s hand.

Adam withdrew his hand, and when Kris opened his eyes to see Adam licking his come off his fingers, he moaned. Kris dragged Adam’s head down and tasted himself on Adam’s tongue. This, all of this, was something Kris had thought he’d never have again. Even if it had taken the world being on the verge of destruction, Kris was happy for it.

Amy called Adam’s name and they both froze like teenagers caught by their parents, and then they both giggled, as much in relief as in mirth.

“We should get back,” Adam said.

“What about you?” Kris said, sliding his hand down Adam’s side.

“Later,” Adam said gently.

Kris’ heart thrilled at the possibility of a ‘later’. Still, he was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to touch Adam the way he’d dreamt of for so long.

Kris pouted. “I want to suck you. I want to taste you on my tongue. I want . . .”

Adam kissed Kris hard to shut him up. “Jesus, Kristopher, do not say things like that,” he groaned. “Okay.” Adam adjusted himself in his jeans. “Come on?”

Kris leaned back against the RV. “I”m going to need a minute. You go on before they come looking for you and find me with my dick hanging out.”

Adam’s gaze fell to said dick, and his expression went hungry.

Kris chuckled even as his belly fluttered. He shoved Adam’s shoulder. “Go.”

Adam ducked down and grabbed the flashlight he’d dropped, then placed a quick kiss on Kris’ lips before he turned and headed back to camp. Kris listened to Adam’s footsteps until he couldn’t hear them anymore, and then he pushed his hand through his hair. He felt a little bit lightheaded at the memory of what he and Adam had just done together. And after so long thinking it would never happen again.

Kris looked down at his wilting dick. He swiped his palm over the sensitive head to clean it, then knelt down and wiped his hand on the grass. He tucked himself back in, zipped up, and took a minute to catch his breath. Kris wiped his palms on the seat of his jeans as he carefully made his way back to camp in the dark.

Kris was afraid that anyone who looked at him would be able to tell what he’d just done. He really wasn’t that good an actor. Plus, his cheeks were tender from beard burn, and his lips felt swollen and tingly. Kris licked his lips self-consciously.

“There you are,” Tommy said when Kris appeared out of the shadows. “Get lost on the way to the bathroom?” he asked as he handed the bottle he held to Kris.

“I didn’t get lost,” Kris said as he accepted the bottle. He took a swig, and then choked on it. “Holy crap,” he said as his eyes watered.

“Told you it was the good stuff,” Brad said.

Kris wiped the back of his hand across his chin. His eyes met Adam’s across the fire and he couldn’t help smiling when he saw the corners of Adam’s lips twitch, even if it was at his expense. Kris handed the bottle back to Tommy, who passed it to Alli.

Instead of returning to the spot where he’d been sitting before sneaking off, Kris took a deep breath and made his way around the group gathered by the fire to where Adam was seated on a log they’d found and rolled over. Kris could feel Adam’s eyes on him and he was afraid he was going to trip and fall on his face.

Without speaking, Kris slipped between Adam and Alisan, and then lowered himself to the ground in front of Adam. No one said anything, but Kris could feel several pairs of eyes on him. Slowly he raised his eyes from where they’d been staring at the ground. Alli grinned at him, and then turned her attention back to the guitar she held in her lap.

They all sat there listening to the softly played music, a counterpoint to the news reports on the radio. When the bottle made its way around to Adam, he took a sip and then handed it down to Kris by dangling it over his shoulder. Their fingers touched when Kris reached up to take it, and then Adam brushed his hand over Kris’ shoulder. Kris shivered, then took a sip and passed the bottle to Alisan.

Kris didn’t know if Brad’s purpose was to get them all drunk before the asteroid hit, but Kris stopped drinking after his third sip. If these were the last moments he’d be able to spend with Adam, Kris wanted to remember them. He moved so he leaned against Adam’s legs, enjoying the warmth of him against his back. By the time Kris had the guitar back in his arms Adam had slid off the log, using it as a backrest as Kris leaned against his chest.

Adam rested his chin on Kris’ shoulder, one hand curled over his hip, watching his fingers as they moved over the strings. If not for the countdown to impact offering a dose of reality, Kris might have believed this was all a dream. Kris handed the guitar off to Monte, and turned in Adam’s arms so he could slide an arm around Adam’s waist and rest his head on Adam’s shoulder. Adam held Kris in his arms, and it felt like every other time they’d ever done this, as if no time at all had passed since the last.

They talked over the softly strummed music, sharing stories that had been told a dozen times before, and making plans for a future none of them knew they’d have. At midnight, thirteen minutes before impact, Monte set the guitar aside as Lisa took his hand and led him to the RV to be with their children. Each of the rest of them reached for someone, to hold their hand, or to hug.

Leila moved closer to Adam and slid her hand through Kris’ hair before settling it on Adam’s shoulder. Danielle and Alisan curled around each other. Brad and Cassidy, and Eber and Amy shared a kiss. Alli held her mother, and Tommy held both of them.

Kris raised his face to Adam, and Adam immediately bent his head and captured his lips. This was what he’d wanted when the end came, to be close to Adam again, holding him, kissing him. The ground shook beneath them. Kris tightened his hold on Adam and deepened the kiss.

The need to breathe overcame the need to be connected, and eventually they broke the kiss. Kris pulled back and looked at the others still huddled together around the fire, then up at the sky where small chunks of the asteroid burned up in the atmosphere and larger ones flew over their heads. They were all still there, for now anyway.

“Did, uh, did anyone else feel that?” Kris asked.

Allison giggled.

Brad snorted. “Look, I know he’s a good kisser, but he’s not _that_ good.”

Leila took pity on him. “Yes, dear, we all felt that.”

“Okay, then,” Kris said, swallowing hard as heat crept up his neck, “just checking.”

Kris chanced a glance at Adam, who was grinning down at him. “I made the Earth move?”

“Shut up,” Kris said, smiling, then leaned in and pressed his lips to Adam’s ear. “You’ve always made the Earth move.”

~*~*~*~

“Where do you think that one hit?” someone asked. In the dark, everyone speaking quietly as if they might be overheard, Kris couldn’t make out who.

“Too damned close,” someone else answered.

Kris huddled in closer to Adam, seeking his warmth and the solid feel of him. Adam held him tight, hands moving over his back, lips pressed to his face.

Monte and Lisa reappeared from the shadows, both looking a little bit rumpled. Kris figured he had no room to tease. Tommy felt differently.

“How are the kids?” he asked.

Beside Tommy, Alli giggled.

“The kids are fine,” Monte said, giving Tommy a look that said he’d kick his ass if he wasn’t currently feeling all kinds of mellow. “Where’s the radio?”

They had to look for it, because the radio had gone silent. It was out for over fifteen minutes, and Kris wondered if maybe the radio station had been hit, or if communication across the nation was down. Alli fiddled with the dials until the static was finally replaced with a voice. The voice sounded frantic and scared, but it was a voice.

Over the course of the next few hours, news trickled in about the impacts, the immediate destruction and devastation they’d caused, and predictions of even more fallout from the hits in the next few hours.

A small piece of the asteroid had hit near Boise City, Oklahoma, just over one hundred miles away from where they’d made their camp. The tremor they’d felt had probably been a result of the shockwave from that impact. Kris didn’t want to know what it would have felt like had that been a large bit of the asteroid.

Another piece of the asteroid had hit southeastern Missouri. The New Madrid fault had shifted, and the resultant earthquake in Missouri sent tremors through northeastern Arkansas, southern Illinois and western Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana. Kris made a sound when he heard that, as fear for his family stabbed through him, and Adam squeezed him even tighter.

“They’re fine,” Adam whispered against the side of his head, “they’re fine.”

Kris had to believe that. When he could bear to open his eyes and look at the others, Kris saw that Alli was holding her mother even tighter than she had when they’d been preparing themselves for impact.

A hit in Nevada had caused the San Andreas fault to slip, and California had suffered one major earthquake and was still being wracked by small earthquakes and tremors. Bits of the asteroid had landed in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and tsunamis were expected to hit the entire coastline of the U.S., destroying cities as far inland as a hundred miles, in some places.

Kris tightened his arms around Adam, and Adam and Leila squeezed each other’s hands as they all thought about Neil, and Lee, Scarlett and Riff in New York City.

Hawaii was expected to be devastated by both tsunami and volcanic eruption. Vancouver, Canada had been erased from the face of the earth in a blink of an eye, and Mexico was believed to have been the victim of at least three separate impacts.

It was difficult to fathom so much death and destruction, to imagine the changes wrought upon their world by the asteroids’ impacts. The numbers the broadcaster was throwing out there didn’t seem real; didn’t seem _possible_.

The one bit of good news was that the country’s government had relocated from Washington, D.C. in anticipation of the tsunamis, and had survived the initial impacts. Kris just hoped they had the fortitude for what they’d need to do in the coming weeks, months, years.

Kris didn’t want to separate from Adam – even with the horrifying reports coming in he felt safe in Adam’s arms – but he knew that they’d need to try to get some sleep that night. Not that he expected anyone would be able to sleep. Kris went to the truck and began to unload the sleeping bags. He startled when Danielle appeared out of the darkness.

“Hey,” Kris said softly as he tossed another sleeping bag on the pile.

“Hey,” Danielle said.

“What’s up?”

Danielle wrapped her arms around Kris and hugged him. Kris froze for a moment, surprised, and then hugged her back.

“You okay?”

Danielle nodded. “I’m glad you’re back.”

Kris patted her back. “I’m glad I’m back, too.”

“Something going on here I should know about?” Adam said.

Despite everything that had happened that night, Kris couldn’t help smiling at the sight of him.

“Yes,” Danielle said as she pulled away from Kris. “I’m trying to steal your boyfriend.”

Kris blushed at Danielle calling him Adam’s boyfriend so matter-of-factly, even after two years.

Adam reached out and took Kris’ left hand in his, fingers rubbing the base of his empty ring finger. “He’s not my boyfriend,” Adam said softly.

Kris went hot all over as he remembered the day that Adam had put the ring on his finger. “Adam,” Kris said.

“Okay!” Danielle said. “Why don’t I just take a couple of these bags and, uh, go . . . somewhere . . . that isn’t here.”

As soon as the shadows swallowed her up, Adam pressed Kris back against the side of the truck and kissed him. Kris clung to Adam, as if holding onto him tightly would keep any danger from befalling him. They moved together, rubbing against each other. Kris moaned into Adam’s mouth. God, he needed this so badly. Needed Adam, needed to be reminded that he, that both of them, were alive.

Adam tore at Kris’ jeans and went to his knees.

Kris started to say, “No, Adam, I wanted to . . . ,” but lost the ability to speak when Adam took him into his mouth.

Kris let his hands drop to Adam’s head, pushed his fingers through Adam’s hair. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back as he moaned and thrust into Adam’s mouth. Kris bit his lip to keep from crying out when he emptied himself on Adam’s tongue.

Adam stood and kissed him. Kris reached for Adam’s waistband, and they both unfastened his jeans. When Kris moved to fall to his knees, Adam stopped him.

“No, just touch me. I’m so close, I’m gonna go off . . . .”

Kris touched him, stroked him once, and Adam moaned loud and came all over his hand.

“. . . like a rocket,” Adam finished, panting as he rested against Kris.

Kris chuckled, and Adam joined him.

“God, that was . . . .”

“Yeah,” Kris said. There were so many other things he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Adam that he loved him, that he’d missed him. Instead he just said Adam’s name again, and hoped he understood.

Kris and Adam cleaned up and returned to the fire carrying the rest of the sleeping bags. They handed them out, and kept one to share. Kris made Adam lie down with him, even though he didn’t expect either one of them to fall asleep. As they rested there, the sound of the radio, and of the others conversing in soft murmurs, swirling around them, Kris told Adam about his home on the lake.

There was room for everyone – the house had four bedrooms, as well as a pullout sofa in the living room, and there was a separate guest house that Kris had converted to a studio, but could easily be reverted to living space – but more importantly they’d have clean water and fish, so long as the lake was undisturbed by the impacts.

Kris and Adam woke to the sounds of others moving about the camp.

“What time is it?” Adam mumbled.

“Early,” Leila said, touching both of their heads gently. “You can sleep some more if you want.”

But of course they couldn’t. They both got up and helped pack up the camp. At some point, Adam slipped away and returned wearing a clean outfit. Kris blushed when Adam looked at him, even though he wasn’t the one who’d gone and changed his clothes.

They ate a cold breakfast, not wanting to take the time to cook anything. Thankfully someone had made coffee, though, or they might not have the energy to make it through the day. The radio continued to broadcast its reports, though no one wanted to dwell too long on them. None of it was good news.

The tsunamis had hit while they’d been asleep. New Orleans was under water that experts said might not recede this time, and the western coast of California had finally submitted to theory and slid into the Pacific. Thinking about it too deeply made Kris feel like he had an itch he couldn’t scratch, just beneath the surface of his skin. The more he tried to reach it, the bloodier he became, and the deeper it insinuated itself.

Before they got into their vehicles, Adam told everyone that they were headed for Kris’ house. He said they’d be safe there, once they were off the road, and explained about the lake, even though Kris hadn’t been sure that Adam was hearing a word he said, with its clean water and fish.

Aurora reminded them what was _really_ important when she asked, “Can we swim in it?”

Everyone laughed at that, and Kris assured her that, yes, they could swim in the lake.

“No peeing, though,” Ariel said, “especially if we have to drink it.”

“The fish pee in it,” Aurora teased.

“Fish don’t pee.”

“Yes they do.”

Lisa stepped in to usher them both off before they could get into a fight.

“On that note,” Adam said, and they all piled into the vehicles.

~*~*~*~

Kris took the first leg behind the wheel. Adam, Leila and Danielle used every moment they had to try to contact someone, anyone – Neil, Kris’ parents, Brooke, Lee and Scarlett. No one answered. Kris wondered if the local towers were down, or if the networks were still just overwhelmed by the amount of calls being attempted.

While they were busy doing that, it gave Kris a chance to brood. He hadn’t thought about people running north to get away from the gulf – to be fair, he hadn’t thought anyone would survive the hit – but now he was filled with concern for his parents. Their group had managed to escape violence on their way east, but Kris worried that his parents might not be so lucky as displaced people swarmed north. He realized that even the most mild mannered person would do something out of character if they feared for their, or more importantly, their children’s lives.

“I need to make sure my parents are okay,” Kris told Adam.

“We will,” Adam said, reaching out and sliding his hand over Kris’, where it lay on the console, slipping his fingers between Kris’. “As soon as we get everyone settled at your place we’ll drive down.”

Kris nodded; he would not cry at the way Adam had offered to go with him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, but he had to blink a couple of times to clear the dirt out of his eyes that was making him tear up.

This leg of their journey was the most tense since crossing LA. They were forced to backtrack and detour around broken pavement caused by the tremor, rioting in the streets, bridges being down, and accidents. The only thing that kept Kris from giving in to his own fear and despair was the steady pressure of Adam’s hand on his knee as he spoke more calmly into the walkie talkie than Kris would have been capable of, checking in with the other vehicles and keeping everyone on an even keel.

Their stop for lunch was quick, and Kris thought that after this road trip he might not ever be able to look at another peanut butter and jelly sandwich again. None of them wanted to linger. It was as if there was a new tenseness in the air now that the asteroids had hit. With the world’s continued existence (such as it was) pretty much assured, the reality of having to live with it was causing people to freak out where even the fear of death hadn’t done before.

It took twice as long as it would have normally to get to Kris’ place, so they were forced to spend one more night on the road. They would’ve kept driving through the night, but if the roads were dangerous during the daytime, they’d be even more so in the dark. Adam and Monte decided against a fire, not wanting to attract the wrong kind of attention. Supper was crackers and cheese, canned olives, and fruit cups. Sleep was fitful at best, and by the time the sun rose they were packed up and ready to hit the road again.

After a breakfast of dry cereal and cold baked beans straight from the can, Kris took the wheel and the lead for the final leg of the journey since he was familiar with the roads. He found himself holding his breath the closer they got to the lake, expecting any moment to see large rents in the ground and buildings toppled over. He breathed a sigh of relief when they finally turned into the driveway and approached the house. It was still standing.

Kris slipped the truck into ‘park’. “Should we go in first, check it out? I mean, it looks fine, but I don’t want to get everyone in there and have it fall down on us.”

“I’m sure it won’t,” Adam said, patting Kris’ leg, “but maybe we should take a look just in case.”

Kris wasn’t sure if Adam was just humoring him or not, but he didn’t care so long as they made sure the house was structurally sound. They slid out of the truck. Adam met Monte and told him to wait until they’d cleared the house. Everyone was glad to get out and stretch their legs, and Kris thought he saw an expression of relief on more than one face now that they’d reached a place of relative safety and comfort, where they could stay for more than one night.

“Can we go down to the lake?” Aurora asked,

Kris thought maybe he was watching too many movies when his first instinct was to tell her to make sure it wasn’t bubbling, and that there were no dead fish floating on top.

“You can go down and check it out as long as an adult goes with you,” Kris said, “but don’t go in until it’s been cleared.”

Everyone looked at him as if he was a little weird, and Adam looked like he was biting back a grin.

“What?”

“You’ve been watching too many movies,” Adam said as he took Kris’ hand and turned him towards the front of the house.

“That’s what I said,” Kris muttered.

Kris and Adam stepped up to the front door, and Kris swore when he looked at the keys in his hand and realized that his house key was on his key chain, which was in Conway.

“These aren’t my keys,” Kris told Adam. “I don’t have the house key.”

“Knowing you, you stashed a spare someplace,” Adam said evenly. “If not, we break a window.”

Kris deflated like a balloon, embarrassed that he’d gotten so worked up over nothing. “Yeah, I do,” he said sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I forgot for a second.”

Adam rubbed his back. “You’re allowed a freak out moment,” he said.

“You didn’t have one.”

“Yes, I did, you just weren’t there to see it,” Adam replied pointedly.

Kris remembered Adam’s comment about worrying when Kris’ mom had called, and his admission about the nightmares. He wanted to reach out and touch Adam, reassure him that they were both fine, but that would have to wait. Kris leaned down and lifted the garden gnome his mother had given him so he could retrieve the spare key. Adam snickered.

“Hey, it’s better than trying to remember which rock is the hollow one,” Kris said.

“Or forgetting you have a spare at all,” Adam said as Kris unlocked the door.

They stepped inside the house and Adam flipped the light switch.

“No power.”

“I turned it off when I left,” Kris said. “Let me turn it back on and then we can see if we’ve got power.”

Kris went to the electrical box and flipped the switches back on. “Now?”

A second later Adam called back, “Houston, we have ignition.”

Kris just shook his head. He returned to Adam, and together they made their way through the house. Happily there was little damage. A lamp had been knocked over and broken, and a couple of paintings Kris had found at a local gallery had fallen onto the floor, but there were no cracks in the walls or other obvious structural issues.

They went back outside and told everyone that it was safe to enter. Before they started to unload the trucks, Alli scooted past them and raced for the front door.

“I can finally pee sitting down again!” she called back gleefully.

The cases of water, boxes of food, and suitcases were carried into the house, the trailer was backed into the garage, and the RVs were parked on the lawn at the side of the house. In the kitchen, Leila opened the refrigerator door before Kris could stop her, and everyone recoiled at the stench of rotting food.

“What the hell?” Leila said, and then turned to glare at Kris.

“Sorry, I turned the power off.” Which had totally been the responsible thing to do.

“Without cleaning out the refrigerator first?”

“Um. I didn’t think I’d be coming back?” Leila was not appeased by any of Kris’ excuses, so he took the coward’s way out and retreated. “I’m just going to carry my bag upstairs now. I’ll clean out the refrigerator when I come back down. Promise.”

Kris wondered if there was anyplace he could hide that Leila wouldn’t find him.

~*~*~*~

Kris rubbed his wet head with a towel as he stepped out of the bathroom. He lowered the towel self-consciously when he realized that he wasn’t alone, held it in front of himself to cover his nudity, fingers flexing convulsively in the material. Adam stood beside the bed where Kris had left his duffel bag after tossing his dirty clothes into the laundry basket. He held the picture frame that Kris had left balanced on top of the clothes still packed into the duffel. Adam stared at the photograph held within, one finger tracing the image of their smiling faces as they gazed at each other, totally wound up in the other, having forgotten that anyone else was in the room until the camera flash had nearly blinded them both.

Adam glanced up when he heard Kris fidget. “I was looking for you,” he said as he reached out and set the frame on the night stand, somehow finding the exact same spot where Kris normally kept it. Kris felt his face heat up at the knowledge that Adam held now, about how pathetic Kris had been to keep that photo beside his bed where he could look at it every night, to carry it with him when he thought the world might be ending and they might die.

Kris swallowed hard as he struggled to remember what Adam had said. “I just meant to drop my bag off,” he finally said, “but I couldn’t resist the urge to get clean.”

Adam nodded slowly, his eyes traveling down the length of Kris’ body, only partially hidden behind the towel. “Drop the towel.”

Kris shivered under the heat of Adam’s gaze, the intensity of his words. Adam had removed his jacket downstairs, and now stood before Kris in the t-shirt and jeans he’d put on the day before, and a pair of black boots, which he kicked off now. His hair was flat, and his make up smeared where it hadn’t been wiped off completely; there was a smudge of dirt on his cheek that even the ginger stubble couldn’t hide, and he was beautiful still for all that.

Very slowly Kris lowered the hand that held up the towel. As Adam’s eyes grew more heated, Kris wished he could claim his move as intentionally seductive, rather than skittish. Adam’s eyes followed Kris’ hand as he exposed nipples that went tight under Adam’s regard, hips where Kris could still feel the bruises Adam had put there the nights when he’d gripped Kris tight and fucked him hard, and the swelling between his thighs that increased the longer Adam stared at him.

Kris’ breath caught at the sight of Adam’s bare chest when Adam drew the t-shirt over his head. Adam smirked at Kris’ reaction, and took a step closer to him as his hands fell to the waistband of his jeans. Adam froze, fingers stilling on his zip, smirk dropping from his face. Kris went hot, then cold, when he realized where Adam’s eyes had alighted. Adam moved up to Kris and reached out, fingers tangling in the chain Kris kept long enough so that the ring he wore on it fell over his heart.

Adam dropped the chain, and it felt cold against Kris’ skin, even though his own body heat kept it warm. Adam reached into the front pocket of his jeans and withdrew the small beaded bracelet Kris had bought for him once when they were on vacation. It had been meant as a joke, but Adam had put it on and worn it until the string broke. He’d kept the broken bracelet in a box high on a shelf in his closet that Kris wasn’t supposed to know about.

Adam placed the bracelet in his palm and held it out to Kris. The ends of the string had been retied, and on it hung the silver band that matched the band hung around Kris’ neck. Kris made a sound as his fingers touched the metal, still warm from Adam’s body, and then Adam swallowed the sound as his lips covered Kris’.

Kris dropped the towel and wrapped both arms around Adam, clung to him as if he might slip away like smoke. Adam tasted like the applesauce Kris had seen him snag while they were carrying the supplies into the house, and four days on the road, and then that was all gone and it was just Adam. They kissed until they needed to breathe, and even then Kris didn’t want to stop. He peppered kisses across Adam’s face and breathed his name against his lips before his tongue sought entry once more.

Kris felt Adam’s palm against the back of his neck, the knuckles of his other hand against his back, fingers curled protectively around the bracelet. Adam dragged his hand around to Kris’ throat, and then down until he held the ring in his fingers. He released Kris’ lips and pressed their foreheads together as he gazed down at the ring.

“I know it’s probably too soon,” he said, “but I want . . . Can I?”

Kris’ heart jumped, but he forced himself to tread cautiously. “We still have to talk,” he said softly.

It wasn’t a ‘no’.

Kris felt Adam’s nod. “I know.”

“Adam,” Kris said, sliding his hands up to cup the sides of Adam’s face. He closed his teeth on Adam’s bottom lip, then soothed it with his tongue. “Yes,” he breathed as he slipped his tongue between Adam’s lips.

They kissed again, and Kris thought he might never tire of it. He needed neither food nor sleep, so long as he had Adam.

Adam broke the kiss and looked down at Kris with a frown. “Wait. Yes?”

Kris smiled at him. “Yes. _Yes_ ,” he said more urgently.

“Kris.”

“Yes, Adam, yes. I’m sorry, I . . . .”

Adam touched his thumbs to Kris’ lips, and shook his head. “Not today,” he said.

Adam turned the chain around Kris’ neck until he found the clasp. Frustrated when he couldn’t get it open, Adam yanked until the chain gave. There was a slight burn against Kris’ neck as Adam pulled the chain off. He carefully slid the ring off the chain, then tossed the chain aside. Kris placed his left hand in Adam’s and held his breath as Adam placed the ring over the tip of his ring finger. He almost cried out when Adam stopped short of putting the ring on all the way.

“We should say something,” Adam said. “You know, to mark the occasion.”

“Okay,” Kris agreed.

Adam raised his eyes from their joined hands and looked into Kris’ eyes. “I love you,” he said, “and I’m never letting you leave me again.”

Kris gave a watery chuckle and nodded, unable to take his eyes from Adam’s as Adam pushed the ring the rest of the way onto his finger. Kris looked at his hand, used his thumb to twist the ring around his finger. He couldn’t believe he was wearing it again.

Adam opened his hand and Kris carefully attempted to unknot the bracelet.

“Just rip it,” Adam said, but it had held sentimental value for Adam while they were still together, and Adam had kept it even when they hadn’t been, so there was no way Kris was going to just tear it.

Kris shook his head. “You kept it.”

“Kristopher.”

Kris bit his lip as he ignored Adam and kept working at the knot, determined not to lose what the bracelet meant to them, to Adam. Adam covered Kris’ hands with his own, stilling his fingers.

“I kept the bracelet because I didn’t want to forget that week, but I’ll always have those memories. If I have to choose between the bracelet and you, I choose you. So rip the damned string.”

Kris ripped the string. He dropped the bracelet, and beads scattered across the floor. Kris ignored them. He took Adam’s hand and slipped the ring over the tip of his finger to the first knuckle, then stopped. He thought he should be afraid at that moment, of all the emotions rushing through him, but he just felt a huge sense of relief, as if every part of him was saying, “Finally!”

“I love you,” Kris said, “and I’ll never leave you again.”

Kris pushed the ring all the way on, then lowered his head and pressed his lips to the metal band at the base of Adam’s finger. Adam slid his other hand through Kris’ hair, gently cupping his head, then pulled at his hair, tugged his head up to claim his lips.

As Adam plundered his mouth, Kris pressed their bodies together tightly, as if with just enough pressure they could become one. He felt Adam hard through his jeans and wanted to feel him skin on skin. Kris dropped his hands to Adam’s hips and pushed at the jeans, then whined when they refused to move any lower.

Adam choked off his laugh at Kris’ predicament when Kris slipped a hand between them and rubbed his palm over him.

“Off!” Kris demanded, and Adam moved quickly to comply.

Adam shoved his jeans and briefs down, and Kris’ hands followed, moving over newly exposed skin and _remembering_ the feel of him. A raised beauty mark here, a constellation of freckles there. Kris went to his knees and licked the spots his fingers had touched. Adam made a sound and dragged Kris back to his feet.

Adam pressed their mouths together and their tongues met and slid together as Adam kicked his jeans off and moved them towards the bed. Kris laughed as they fell onto the mattress, and then they both reached out and shoved Kris’ duffel to the floor. Adam rolled them so there was less chance they’d fall off, and then he just held Kris close and kissed him.

Being with Adam again like this was even better than Kris had imagined it would be. Even better than their first time, or that time on the beach – no matter how romantic it sounded, sand got _everywhere_. Kris wiggled out from under Adam and settled himself on top.

“You’re like a freaking eel,” Adam complained.

Kris just smiled as he pressed his nose to Adam’s neck and breathed in deeply. He licked the skin, tasting salt and dirt and _Adam_.

“I haven’t showered,” Adam warned, sounding self-conscious as Kris sucked a mark, _his_ mark, onto his neck.

When he released Adam’s skin, Kris just made a ‘hmm’ sound to let Adam know he’d heard him. He nosed his way across Adam’s skin to his armpit, and just breathed in the strong musky scent of him.

“Okay, that’s just nasty,” Adam said, but he didn’t try to push Kris away.

Kris licked at Adam’s pit. Adam groaned and brought his other hand up to the back of Kris’ head.

“And disturbingly hot,” Adam admitted as Kris buried his face in Adam’s armpit, licking and sucking until all he tasted was Adam.

Which reminded him.

Kris moved lower, licking a path over Adam’s ribs, and down to his hips, leaving a trail of red marks as testament to his passage. He buried his nose in the juncture of Adam’s hip and groin. He sniffed and licked and sucked, and then moved his attentions lower.

Kris couldn’t get enough of Adam – the scent of him, the taste of him, it was like a drug. The way Adam felt on his tongue, the sounds he made as Kris pushed him to the brink, and then when he fell over.

Kris released Adam’s sensitive cock when Adam whimpered and patted his head, and slithered back up his body. Heart still racing, breaths coming fast, Adam sucked Kris’ tongue into his mouth. Kris moaned and pressed his hips into Adam. Adam dropped his hands to Kris’ ass and squeezed, encouraging him to thrust against him. Kris broke the kiss and panted Adam’s name against his lips as he spilled between them.

~*~*~*~

Kris woke to a soft knock on the bedroom door. He was disoriented for a moment while his mind worked through the familiar feel of Adam’s warm body in a bed Adam had never slept in. By the time the second knock sounded, Kris’ brain had been flooded with memories of the past few days. He leaned up on one elbow, glad that they’d covered up with the blanket from the foot of the bed before falling asleep.

“Yeah?” Kris said, his voice hoarse from sleep.

“Kris?” Alli said through the door. “I’m so sorry, did I wake you?”

“That’s okay. What’s up?” Kris said as he moved his foot along Adam’s legs, wiggled his toes between them.

“I’m sorry to bother you, it’s just, we can’t find Adam anywhere.”

Kris glanced down at the dark head lying on his pillow. Blue eyes looked back at him. Kris widened his eyes at Adam, who just smiled back.

Alli went on. “We thought he’d gone down to the lake, but he hadn’t, and we looked everywhere, but he’s, like, nowhere.”

Kris dropped his head down onto the pillow and looked into Adam’s eyes as he slid his hand over Adam’s side. He’d leave it up to Adam whether he wanted the others to know about them. Not that they didn’t already know something had happened, or that the rings would go unnoticed. Adam gave Kris a look that said he knew exactly what he was doing.

Adam pressed a kiss to Kris’ lips, then said, “I’m in here, Alli.”

There was a moment of stunned silence while Alli digested that. “Oh. Oh! I, um, okay, well, I’ll just, I mean . . .”

Kris took pity on her. “We’ll be down soon,” he said, putting her out of her misery.

“Okay,” Alli said, sounding relieved to be let off the hook.

As soon as they were sure she was gone, they both burst into giggles.

“I feel like a teenager again,” Adam said. “Getting caught making out with my first boyfriend.”

“And we weren’t even making out,” Kris said, faking a pout.

Adam’s smile went all the way to his eyes as he rolled Kris to his back and rose up over him. “We can remedy that.”

Kris thought his face might crack, he was smiling so wide. He cupped Adam’s face, then slid his hands into Adam’s hair. “Can we?”

Adam’s answer was the soft press of his lips against Kris’. Kris buried his fingers in Adam’s hair, pulling on it just enough to make Adam moan as he slid his tongue across Kris’ lips, and then pressed between them.

Kris would’ve been happy to stay there forever, just kissing Adam and feeling the slide of Adam’s skin against his own, but his stomach growled loudly enough to make Adam pull back and look at him with a raised eyebrow.

Kris snorted. “Sorry.”

“Maybe we should go down and get something to eat.”

“Yeah,” Kris said.

Adam must have heard the reluctance in his voice. “What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Kris said, wishing he wasn’t so transparent to Adam.

“Something,” Adam said as he nuzzled Kris’ throat. “Tell me.”

“I like it here, in our little bubble,” Kris admitted.

He didn’t know why, but he was suddenly afraid to open up the door and let the real world in.

“I like it here, too,” Adam said as he slid his hand down Kris’ side and over his hip.

Kris couldn’t help laughing as Adam squeezed his ass.

Adam went on as if Kris hadn’t interrupted him. “I think we should take the bubble with us when we leave.”

“I don’t think your mother would appreciate being introduced to the bubble,” Kris said gravely, trying not to smile as he returned the favor and squeezed Adam’s ass.

“Oh god,” Adam said, “that image. Metaphorically! We take the _vibe_ of the bubble with us.”

“I love you,” Kris said, his heart feeling so full he thought it might burst.

“I love you, too, baby,” Adam said, tenderly touching Kris’ face.

“I missed you,” Kris admitted. “I missed _this_.”

“The bubble?”

Kris gave a watery laugh. “Yeah, the bubble, but not just the bubble. This,” he said, tightening his arms around Adam. “Though maybe we should forget the whole bubble imagery.”

“I missed you, too. And I like the idea that we have a bubble where we can close out the rest of the world. Unfortunately,” Adam said, rubbing his hand over Kris’ belly when his stomach growled again, “the real world calls. But the bubble will still be here when we need it.”

“I know, you’re right, I just . . . .”

“It all feels new again,” Adam said. “A little bit raw and vulnerable.”

“Yes,” Kris said, not surprised that Adam knew exactly where he was coming from, and maybe felt it himself, as well.

“We still need to talk,” Adam went on, “and . . . “ He shook his head.

“Rebuild our trust,” Kris said.

“And we’ll do that,” Adam said. He brushed his thumb across Kris’ lips, then pressed his own to them. “We’ll do that.”

Kris knew that it wouldn’t be easy – the world had changed drastically, and they didn’t know what tomorrow held, much less next week, or next month. Plus they had a bunch of house guests, which meant not much privacy to renew their relationship – but they _would_ do it. There was no other choice, because he needed Adam in his life.

“I know,” Kris said, “we will. In the meantime,” he went on, changing the subject to a lighter topic, “can I interest you in a shower?”

Adam considered that. “Will you be in it?”

“I could be,” Kris teased.

“Actually,” Adam said, turning serious for a moment, “I would _kill_ for a shower.”

“Luckily it won’t come to that,” Kris said.

They got off the bed and Kris took Adam’s hand to lead him into the bathroom just because he could. Kris picked at the dried come on his belly as he ran the water in the shower until it was warm. He watched Adam lean over the sink and rub at the ginger stubble covering his cheeks as he studied his reflection.

“I need to shave.”

“At least it’s soft now,” Kris said. He leaned against Adam’s shoulder and reached up to rub the back of his hand over Adam’s cheek. “No case of stubble burn to give us away.”

Adam smiled at Kris in the mirror. “Right, ‘cause no one’s gonna notice the hickey,” he said as he slid his hand down his throat where Kris’ mark was dark against his fair skin.

Kris smiled and shrugged. He reached into the shower to check the water temperature, then stepped into it and held out his hand for Adam to follow him. They slid hands over water slicked skin, and kissed, and soaped each other up. Not even the rumble of Kris’ belly kept Adam from sliding a soapy hand between Kris’ legs, and a soap slicked finger between Kris’ cheeks as he pressed Kris’ shoulders against the wall and kissed him while he brought him off.

As soon as Kris had caught his breath and could see Adam rather than flashes of brilliant color when he opened his eyes, Adam turned him around to face the wall and pushed his hard cock against Kris’ ass. Adam flexed the fingers that pinned Kris’ hands to the wall as he thrust against him, and closed his teeth on Kris’ shoulder as he emptied himself all over Kris’ back and ass.

As always, showering together took longer than showering separately would have, but Kris was happy to pay the price in time and hot water if it meant spending more time with Adam in their little (he rolled his eyes at himself as he thought it) bubble. After rinsing off (and more kissing), they stepped out of the shower and dried off.

Kris picked up from the floor a pair of jeans that had fallen out of the duffel when it had been unceremoniously shoved off the bed, and pulled them on sans underwear.

“What are you doing?” Kris said when he saw Adam reaching for his dirty jeans.

“I didn’t bring up my bag,” Adam explained.

“I’ll go get it for you,” Kris offered. He stepped up to Adam and caressed his face, then pressed a kiss to his lips. “You can shave if you want.”

“Are you sure?”

“About you shaving? Yes.”

Adam dug his fingers into Kris’ side where he knew would make Kris squeal and try to get away from him.

“About getting my bag,” Adam said as he tightened his hold on Kris and dragged him up to his toes for a hard kiss. “Brad’s out there, you know.”

If Brad knew (and Kris held little hope that he didn’t), he would not rest until he’d gotten Kris to blush at least twice, Kris knew from past experience. “I’ll brave it,” Kris said, “for you.”

“My hero,” Adam said, mock swooning.

“Mmm hmm. Shave. I’ll get your bag,” Kris said as he reluctantly pulled out of Adam’s arms.

“Put on a shirt,” Adam said, even though Kris was already heading over to his duffel for one. When he turned questioning eyes on Adam, he just said, “Brad’s out there.”

Kris smiled and shook his head. Adam had always overestimated Kris’ appeal to other men, he thought, and besides, Brad was apparently with Cassidy now. Kris pulled on a t-shirt, then padded over to the door.

“I’ll be right back,” Kris said as he pulled the door open, and then very nearly tripped over Adam’s bag, which someone had set in the hallway right outside his room. Kris didn’t know whether to be grateful that someone had been so thoughtful, or embarrassed because, by now everyone had to know that he and Adam had been together. As in, together-together, not just in each other’s company, talking or whatever. Kris dragged the bag inside and thumped it on the bed.

“Is it my imagination, or were you not gone very long,” Adam said as he carefully drew a razor across foam covered skin.

“Someone delivered it,” Kris said wryly.

Adam made a noise Kris couldn’t decipher, then said, “Get me out something to wear?”

“Wow, you trust me to pick out your clothes?” Kris said, his surprise half genuine and half mocking.

Adam quirked an eyebrow at him. “Even you can’t go wrong with the choices given,” he said as he rinsed the razor under the tap.

Kris unzipped the bag. He pulled out the dirty clothes and tossed them into the hamper along with his own and the clothes Adam had worn that day. Kris sorted through the clean clothes, which consisted of jeans, t-shirts, and a hoodie. Kris chose a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt that said ‘bite me’ with several spots of blood dripping from the final ‘e’, and the flip flops he found buried at the bottom of the bag.

Kris refolded the rest of Adam’s clothes to be re-packed in the bag. He’d have cleaned out a drawer for him, but they’d be leaving in the morning for Conway so there was no sense unpacking. As he ran his hands over the material, Kris thought about the wardrobe that Adam had lost. It was silly to be thinking about lost clothing when so many people had lost their lives, or loved ones, but Kris was going to miss some of them.

Like the jacket Adam had worn during the Idol tour. Kris remembered the night Adam had entered their bedroom to find Kris sprawled across the mattress, wearing the tour jacket and nothing else, hands moving over his chest and between his legs. Adam had just stopped and stared, even though Kris could clearly see his arousal pressing against the material of his pants. Adam had finally broken when Kris had closed his eyes and moaned his name.

Kris had been working in the studio at the time, and his discomfort the next day had not gone unnoticed. Cale had bought him a donut pillow, and Brad had slipped a tube of ointment into Kris’ hand and gave him a wink that still made Kris blush just to think of it.

“What are you thinking about?”

Kris’ head jerked up as he was snapped out of the memories. “What?”

“What are you thinking about?” Adam repeated.

“Nothing,” Kris said as he shoved a once neatly folded pile of clothes into Adam’s bag. Even without the flush Kris felt creeping up his neck he doubted Adam would believe him.

“Ohhhh,” Adam said, drawing the word out and making it sound dirty. “It must be really good.”

Kris laughed. He didn’t know why he was hiding it from Adam, aside from the fact that he’d been startled at being caught. “The tour jacket,” he said.

Adam frowned in thought. “Which ti–. Oh.”

Kris blushed more hotly at the expression of naked desire on Adam’s face. He shoved another pile of clothes into the bag and caught his hand on something sharp. “Ow,” he muttered, drawing his hand out to look at it before plunging it back into the bag to seek out the culprit. He finally found it hidden inside an interior pocket and pulled it out.

Kris’ breath caught when he saw what it was. “We . . . are such . . . a couple . . . of idiots,” he managed to choke out as he stared down at the photograph of him and Adam.

Adam gently took the picture frame out of Kris’ hands and dropped it onto the bed. He pulled Kris into his arms and placed a kiss on his head. “We really are,” he agreed.

~*~*~*~

The delicious aroma of something edible that wasn’t going to be served cold or dry drew Kris down the stairs. A few people were in the living room, glued to the television, others were scattered on the deck, and if the shouting and laughter was any indication, others were down at the lake.

“What smells so good?” Kris said as he dragged Adam after him into the kitchen.

“Pizza,” Leila said, following them. “We needed milk for the kids, so a couple of us ventured into town. We were fine,” she said when both Kris and Adam reacted to that. “And can you believe that the pizza place was still open?”

“Pizza Shack,” Kris said automatically.

“Yes! Apparently nobody wants to stay home alone, so they’d gather there, as well as at the pub, of course, and watch the news. Anyway, we mentioned that we were staying here with you and they set us up.”

Two empty boxes sat on the counter and Kris looked at them forlornly. Leila laughed.

“There’s a box keeping warm in the oven.”

Kris eagerly opened the oven door and pulled out the box, not even checking to see if it was too hot to touch first. Kris set it on the pile of boxes on the counter and flipped the top open to reveal four slices.

“Did everyone have enough?” he asked, mentally trying to calculate the number of people versus the number of slices even as he separated one slice from the rest and offered it to Adam.

“Yes,” Leila said. “More than. There’s actually another box we already took out to the burn pile.”

Kris moaned when he took his first bite. Part of it was hunger, and part of it was that the pizza tasted to damned _good_ after days of granola bars, yogurt, dry cereal and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

After he finished chewing, Kris said, “I could kiss whoever’s idea this was.”

A handful of voices chorused, “Mine!” Kris doubled over in laughter and nearly dropped his slice of pizza.

Kris caught the slice and Leila slid a plate beneath it, and handed another to Adam. They added the last two slices to their plates, then seated themselves at the table in the breakfast nook. As they stuffed their faces, Leila filled them in on how everyone had settled in while they’d been upstairs sleeping. (Kris refused to think about the fact that everyone over the age of 12 knew what else they’d been doing.)

The refrigerator had been emptied out and cleaned (Leila gave him a look that Kris ignored in favor of taking another bite of pizza); the food and water they’d carried in had been stocked in the pantry and cupboards; the broken lamp had been cleaned up and the paintings rehung; sleeping areas had been assigned; showers had been had; and the clothes washer had been pressed into service, though all the clothes had been hung out on the line to dry to conserve power.

Everyone had been down to the lake and at the very least sat on the deck and dangled their feet in the cool water. Each of them had been assigned television duty on a rotating basis so that someone was sitting in front of it at all times, making sure they had the latest information on the status of the nation post-asteroid. Leila had continued her attempts to reach Neil, as well as Kris’ parents. She squeezed Adam’s hand when she told them that the line had opened for a mere second one time she’d dialed Neil, so she was filled with hope that he’d made it out of New York City safely before the wave hit.

After they finished eating and were completely briefed, Kris took Adam’s hand and led him outside. He wanted to show his home, possibly their home now that most of LA was gone, to Adam. Part of their country may have fallen into chaos, but here it was peaceful; the grass was still green, and a light breeze moved the leaves. Ariel and Aurora swam in the lake, supervised by the two adults (well, Alli and Tommy) sitting on the dock. Kris and Adam walked down to the water and listened to the sound of it moving against the pilings beneath the dock.

Tommy left Alli’s side and walked over to them. “I’m going with you tomorrow,” he announced, leaving them no room to refuse.

And Kris wasn’t going to insult him by trying. Besides, he had no idea how dangerous it might be, and having even one more person with them might increase their chances of not being seen as easy prey.

Kris nodded. “Thank you.”

Tommy nodded back gravely, then cracked a grin and winked at Adam before turning and heading back to Alli. Adam laughed. Kris, of course, blushed.

“So when did that happen?” Kris asked, in an attempt to take Adam’s attention off his red face.

“What?”

“Tommy and Alli.”

“ _What_?” Adam said as he looked over his shoulder at them.

Kris laughed and tugged on Adam’s hand. They made their way back to the house, and Kris kept his hand tucked inside Adam’s. They spent some time speaking with Brad and Cassidy, who were curled up on a lounge on the deck, and then Danielle and Alisan, who came outside after their turn in front of the television.

Adam made sure everyone had settled in and was prepared for whatever might happen over the next couple of days. Adam had already made it very clear that he wasn’t letting Kris drive to Conway without him, but he was worried about leaving his friends behind, even though they’d probably be safer at the lake than the two (now three) of them would be on the road.

Kris never moved from Adam’s side, even though he knew that Adam wasn’t going to disappear should Kris let him out of his sight for a moment. When his hand wasn’t twined with Adam’s, it was on his back, or he was being tucked under Adam’s arm. It made Kris feel warm inside to know that Adam felt the need to touch, or to just be near one another, as much as Kris did.

Eventually Amy and Eber wandered out, and then Leila. While Adam spent a few minutes with his mother, Kris gave them some privacy. He meandered over to the fire pit and tore up one of the pizza boxes so he could use it to help start a fire. They didn’t need it to cook over, or to keep warm in the night, but Kris thought that everyone might enjoy the familiarity, the comfort of it.

Eber left Amy with the girls and came over to help. Kris didn’t know what to expect from Adam’s father, because he hadn’t spent much time alone with Eber since he’d arrived in LA four days ago. Eber squatted beside the pile of twigs and chose some to add to the torn pieces of the pizza box to get the fire going. Kris squatted beside him and carefully stacked some larger pieces of wood so that the fire would get air, and then he struck a match and held it to the cardboard.

They both stood back and watched the flames lick at the tinder.

“This is a nice place,” Eber finally said.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nice to see Adam happy again.”

Kris bit his lip and looked up at Adam, who had cornered Alli and was giving her the third degree. He must have somehow sensed Kris’ eyes on him, because he turned his head, gave Kris a smile and a quick wave, then turned back to Alli.

“It’s nice to see Adam again,” Kris said.

Eber nodded, then patted Kris on the shoulder. He walked over to Amy, leaving Kris standing there by the fire, watching his . . . . Kris swallowed hard and used his thumb to twist the ring that was back on his finger where it belonged. His husband.

Adam came over to Kris and swooped down for a kiss. Kris smiled, because they could do that now – again – and it wasn’t just a dream.

“I’m gonna grab the radio so we can all sit out here around the fire.”

Kris nodded, then gave Adam another kiss before he stepped back, their hands reluctantly sliding off the other. He stared after Adam as he walked away, until he realized that everyone was watching him watch Adam. Kris ducked down and set a couple more pieces of wood on the fire and tried to ignore Brad’s chuckle.

Adam returned a couple minutes later with the radio. He sat in one of the Adirondack chairs and set the radio on his lap. Adam played with the dial until he found a local station, set the volume so they could hear it, but hold a conversation over it, and then set it on the ground beside his chair. Kris was tempted to slide onto the vacant spot on Adam’s lap, but he remembered that he had a bag of marshmallows somewhere in his cupboards.

Kris found the bag after a bit of searching, and gave it a little squeeze. They felt like they might have been in the cupboard a while, but he figured that mattered more for making Rice Krispie treats than it would for toasting over a fire. Kris held the bag up as he skipped down the deck steps to the back lawn.

“Who wants to toast marshmallows?”

There was a chorus of ‘me’s, but Kris thought Alli’s was the loudest.

“Okay,” he said as he crossed the lawn. “We need to find some long twigs. Who’s gonna help me gather some?”

All the kids (Alli being the biggest of them) offered to help, so Kris tossed the bag of marshmallows in Adam’s lap and led them to the tree line. They used the last of the daylight to gather a bunch of twigs. Kris wielded his pocket knife to trim off leaves, and to add a bit of a point to the ends of the twigs that needed it. Kris felt a bit like the Pied Piper as he led everyone back to the fire pit.

Kris retrieved the bag of marshmallows from Adam (after paying a penalty, which wasn’t a hardship at all, though Ariel made an ‘euww’ face and asked her mother if they could get cooties doing that), and stuck a marshmallow on the end of each twig. Kris explained the very serious matter of toasting marshmallows as he helped the twins, making sure they kept their marshmallows away from the hottest part of the fire. When one caught on fire, Kris calmly took the twig, blew out the fire, and then returned the twig to the small hand.

Adam had remained seated, watching Kris with an intensity that made him glad he could blame his warm, red cheeks on proximity to the fire. When the kids’ appetites had been slaked, Kris took a twig for himself and pushed two marshmallows over the end. He held them over the fire until they were heated and browned to his satisfaction. Kris carried his prize over to Adam, seated himself on Adam’s lap, and slipped his free arm around Adam’s neck.

“Hi,” Kris said, happy to finally be touching Adam again, though they’d rarely been out of arm’s reach since emerging from Kris’ bedroom.

Adam smiled as he slid his arms around Kris’ waist. “Hi.”

“I toasted you a marshmallow.”

“Did you? That’s very sweet of you. How can I ever repay your kindness?”

Kris pressed his lips to Adam’s because they were right there, and really, who was he to resist? “I have some ideas,” he said.

Adam gave a dirty chuckle. “I bet you do.”

Kris gave Adam a kiss that was supposed to be quick, but Adam parted his lips in invitation and Kris slipped his tongue between them. They kissed until Brad’s and Alli’s catcalls broke them apart. Kris grinned like an idiot as he pressed his forehead to Adam’s, and Adam grinned at him just as widely.

Remembering his offering, Kris drew the twig in and held it so Adam could take the first marshmallow. His mouth fell open as he just stared at the end of the twig, which now only held one marshmallow. His eyes fell on Beatrix, who looked back at him as if she dared him to say anything about the incriminating white goo at the corners of her mouth, and which she was currently licking off her fingers.

“You ate Adam’s marshmallow!” Kris said with exaggerated surprise.

“Actually,” Adam said as he plucked the remaining marshmallow from the end of the twig and popped it into his mouth, “I think she ate _your_ marshmallow.”

Adam grinned at him, and Kris laughed at the sticky marshmallow coating his lips and teeth.

“That was mine,” Kris asserted as he brought Adam’s hand to his lips and licked the marshmallow off his fingers.

Adam’s breath caught, and some of the mirth faded from his eyes as another gleam took its place. Kris slid his fingers into Adam’s hair and held his head still. Adam’s eyes went dark, and then Kris closed his own as he brought their lips together. Adam moaned and moved his hands to Kris’ ass. For a moment the world fell away and they forgot where they were.

Lisa’s, “Okay, I think it’s bedtime!” interrupted their kiss and brought them back down to earth.

“Mmm, yeah,” Kris said against Adam’s lips, “good idea.”

There was laughter at their expense, and Monte said dryly, “I don’t think she was talking about you two.”

“Maybe she should have been,” Amy said, which sent everyone into more laughter.

Adam just smiled at him, and Kris dropped the twig so he could wrap both arms around Adam’s neck.

“Still a good idea,” Kris said. “I mean, we do have to get an early start in the morning.”

“We do,” Adam agreed, and then he kissed Kris again.

Kris knew that there were hard days ahead – making sure their loved ones were safe, dealing with the displaced and injured, determining how much of their country’s infrastructure still stood, and figuring out what kind of future this new world held for each of them – but right now, sitting on Adam’s lap and licking the taste of marshmallow out of his mouth, everything felt perfect.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Art Master Post: http://community.livejournal.com/freeze_a_moment/8761.html


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